Blessing From A Curse
by Ryuuachi
Summary: AU. Jinchuuriki are not the only ones who carry a curse within them, and Naruto finds out that even the curse of the Kyuubi can give him a blessing like no other yet received...And he meets a clan who knows this truth as well as he does...NarutoxHinata
1. The Cursed and The Blessed

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, at all. If I did, this would be fiction and not fanfiction. I do own my OCs, and most importantly, my very original bloodlines, especially the Tenshigan and the *static* as well.

I add the little dialogue key because it seems like it should be there. This is a revised idea that I liked and managed to find a song to inspire me to get it written. Enjoy!

"Speech"

"**Demon speech"**

_Thought_

_**Demon thought**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_**Blessing from a Curse**_

Chapter 1: The Cursed and the Blessed

Darkness was wrapping tightly around the concrete jungle below with the stars being the only source of light. Starlight was a blessing to many a stargazer and couple, illuminating their lives and loved ones as they walked through a small quaint park. However, for one young soul, the night sky had a different effect on them. _Please leave me alone, please! _The day had started off well, though anyone else would have just labeled the day as one of the thousands of ordinary ones they already had experienced. But for the young soul, it had been a blessing to have a day where he seemed to have avoided the usual hatred and glares from the villagers. Uzumaki Naruto was overjoyed throughout the day as he woke up to a rare breakfast of cereal with actual non-expired milk.

_Why are they always chasing me? I saved Hime, I didn't hurt her! _He had actually managed to make a friend today, a small girl about his age with pale skin, lavender color eyes, and dark blue hair. She was being picked on by a couple of older boys, and Naruto had heroically scared them off by beating up the bigger boy. No one expected a three year old to pound the snot out of a seven year old. After the two ran off, he introduced himself as plain Naruto to the girl who immediately began blushing with teary eyes. Teary eyes which automatically touched Naruto's little heart and he wiped them away as he had seen many a mother do.

His thoughts however focused back on his predicament, a pair of off duty shinobi guards chasing him with the intent to kill. They had spotted him heading home after playing with his new friend he dubbed 'Hime', and decided to get even with the 'demon'.

Naruto of course had no idea why they called him a demon. He was a normal blond haired blue eyed orphan with whisker marks. That was all there was to him. Even though he tried talking to them, all they wanted was nothing more than to see him suffer, and suffer he would.

"Please leave me alone!" But his desperate plea did more harm than good. At the same moment he had turned to shouted, Naruto stumbled and fell flat onto his face, hitting the alleyway wall hard. He tried to get up quickly only to scream as the hard edge of a tobi connected with his small stomach.

Naruto's vision was nothing but a flash of blue, red, and black as the two chunin began kicking him mercilessly. _Why do they beat me? Why me? WHY? _Tears of pain and sadness fell from his cheeks to mingle with blood as one of the attackers buried a kunai into his stomach. Pain shot up through the boy's small body even into his still developing mind. The pain also reached his stomach as the other chunin followed suit and stabbed Naruto in his stomach, biting into organs that the boy had no idea existed.

One of the men laughed wickedly as he gave another kick to Naruto. "You have a lot to pay for demon," he stabbed Naruto again, smiling at the young boy's scream. "I lost friends because of you," the man picked Naruto up and slammed him against the wall.

"I lost my family because of you demon," the other chunin added in as he kicked Naruto in the face. The poor boy was bleeding all over as he stabbed his kunai into Naruto's stomach again. "How does it feel to go through my family's pain?"

_Please stop it, please stop! _Naruto's thoughts did not go unheard as he let out a heartbreaking scream. "Please stop!" The two men snarled and they both lifted up their kunai to finish of the demon once and for all.

_**He has lost too much blood…**_Inside of Naruto's mind, a pair of dark eyes slowly opened. A sliver of red peered out at the darkening waters as the lights began to flicker out. _**There is only one choice if we are both to survive. **_The first sliver seemed to glow as the eyes flickered over the pipes leading out from the cell into the halls. _**I will not die here like some primordial insect…not like this… I AM THE KYUUBI, LORD OF KITSUNES! **_Both eyes snapped open wide to reveal blazing dark crimson eyes as emblems began to brightly glow on the pipes. Fiery red-orange chakra began surging through the pipes as the entire cell lit up from the mighty aura. The darkening water began to change as the chakra mingled with the waters, and the being let out an earth-trembling roar. _**WE SHALL NOT DIE SO EASILY!**_

Blood began pumping through Naruto's veins to replace the blood he was losing. The younger of the chunin attackers wiped off his kunai as they both eyed their work with satisfaction. His companion turned to leave while he looked at the bloodied mess that was Naruto and frowned. "It's still alive…" A quick look at the assumed corpse told the older chunin that his friend was right. Naruto was still bleeding and weakly whimpering as the new blood leaking from his quickly fading wounds fell onto the ground.

Both men shared a sinister smile and advanced on Naruto as a figure approached them, and they looked up to the newcomer. "Looks like we need to finish him off then," The newcomer looked from Naruto to the chunin, until they noticed the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks. "Care to join us?" one of the chunin asked, recognizing the figure as one of the jonin assigned to guard duty.

"Gladly, the demon took away my sight," The jonin, one of the few kunoichi of the rank, pointed to her cloudy eyes with a frown. "Time to return the favor," she pulled out a pair of her own kunai, and began advancing on Naruto.

All the while he was being prepared for his newest torture, the blood from Naruto begin to glow a dark red color. None of the shinobi noticed the strange glow of chakra in the blood, or the figure that was standing on the rooftops above them. _Whisker marks on each cheek, blond hair like the sun, and blue eyes…_The figure's eyes narrowed as they noted the glowing chakra in Naruto's blood and his slowly mending wounds. "Return the favor on a child? Only trash would try to kill a child,"

The three shinobi looked to the source of the dark feminine voice as the figure vanished in a blurry after-image. She reappearing in front of the older chunin with blazing dark green eyes burning holes into the man's very soul as the fellow kunoichi smirked. "You're just in time to join us Hai-Fuschichou in-," the kunoichi words were cut off as the chunin before the new person was sent crashing into the wall. "What are you doing?"

In a blur of speed, the other chunin was soon sprawled out on the ground screaming in pain from his now broken legs. Before the kunoichi could react, she was pinned to the wall by the shorter woman who glared up at her as the blind woman felt intense pain around her neck. "Consider yourself warned, on probation, and under arrest,"

"On what grounds Hai-," She was cut off by a fierce punch to the jaw, breaking it with a loud crack. Naruto weakly opened his eyes to find one of his attackers slowly trying to crawl over to him with a kunai in hand. He began to whimper softly as the chunin grinned evilly at the frightened blond and began pulling himself over to Naruto.

In a flash of fire, the chunin was now like his younger friend only his arms were bent at odd angles that were impossible without pain being involved. "For assaulting a ward of the Hokage," A large crash was heard as the blind kunoichi was knocked out with a trickle of blood coming from inside her mouth. "And for being the poor bastards and bitch to get me pissed off tonight," The woman glared at the two screaming men before hauling both up to their feet, and in a feat of strength that was very reminiscent of the ancient Amazons of the west, clashed the two men together like cymbals.

Naruto stared in a mix of awe and horror at the fierce kunoichi as she spat on ground angrily. _Please don't see me, please don't see me…_The young woman turned around to Naruto, and he broke out into a new set of tears. _I'm sorry I'm sorry…_He whimpered weakly as the woman walked over to him. "Gomen nasai, gomen nasai…"

To his surprise, the woman picked him up tenderly in a complete reverse of the kunoichi who had just turned three trained shinobi into broken unconscious heaps. She took ripped off the other kunoichi's shirt into several strips, and began bandaging his wounds. "Forget about the trash kid, do you have place to stay?" The scared boy slowly shook his head, causing the woman to shoot a glare at the three fallen shinobi. Naruto began to slowly overcome his fear as he looked over the woman who turned back to him and did the same in return.

She was not that much taller than the nice daughter of the Ichiraku owner. In fact, the daughter was probably just a few inches shorter than the kunoichi. Naruto looked at her dark violet hair and found it was spiky like his, but in a more wild fashion that matched her aggressive behavior. He noticed she didn't wear a flak vest like the chunin and jonin did but a compact version that barely reached past her breasts. Now Naruto wasn't a pervert, he was just observing his savior and taking notes on her appearance. Knowing what his savior looked like meant he knew who could protect him again.

The boy's investigation continued as the young woman took the chance to look over Naruto, aware that he was doing the same thing to her. _If this is the first time he's ever been this close to an adult without being hurt, I'm ripping the next bastard or bitch to shreds!_She frowned when she noticed how skinny he was, and the sign of malnutrition judging by his small size and poor condition. Her instincts were demanding that someone be killed for this treatment of a child that was just a year older than her own daughter, and she whole heartedly agreed. The woman stopped her investigation before she decided to go on a rampage, and finished bandaging Naruto up.

Naruto was still looking over her as she followed his gaze to the pair of kanji that seemed to be tattooed into the back of her hands. With his curiosity overriding his fear, Naruto took one skinny finger and began tracing the kanji slowly. "R-y-u-u…wyuu?" he looked up at the woman to see her smiling and he whimpered. "Gomen nasai…"

"No need Naruto-chan," At the sound of his voice coupled with the word chan, Naruto began to get teary eyed in a mix of shock and surprise. _She called me Naruto-chan…She didn't call me a demon.... _Inside of the young boy's mind, the dark red eyes looked at the young woman carefully. Kyuubi was impressed by the young kunoichi's abilities, and his eyes lit up wildly when he detected the hidden fury and anger in her voice. _**She would make a fine demon with her maternal fury and bloodlust… **_He mused as he took note of the kanji for a moment before Naruto's eyes were filled with tears. _**What a wonderful twist of fate for my vessel if she is connected to that clan by blood or marriage… **_

While Kyuubi was making plans and ponderings, Naruto was still crying though now he was resting his head against the tough material of the young woman's vest. He didn't notice that he had left the alleyway and was now heading to the Hokage's tower. Even the fact his savior's arm was glued around his small body like a shield and she was carrying him was lost on Naruto. All that mattered to him was that someone cared enough to call him Naruto-chan, other than the nice Ramen man and his daughter.

The young woman was moving across the rooftops at a speed that only the truly elite of the jonin were capable of. If any villager caught sight of her, it wouldn't matter if they could recognize her passenger or not. She was nothing more than a shadow that moved across the rooftops, one that only a shinobi of equal skill could detect.

"You can stop the shadowing now Gai," The woman's voice brought Naruto out of his crying as he turned his head to look at his savoir. "Or do you really want to piss me off like the two bastards I dealt with earlier?" she seemed to be talking to herself until a young man much taller than her with a bowl haircut appeared at her side with a big smile and wearing a bright green jumpsuit.

"My fiery friend Reihitsu, it is wonderful to see your flames of youth tonight!" Naruto shrank back from the mere energy and enthusiasm the man seemed to exude. If anyone who had seen the boy before saw him now, they would actually spare a second of pity for the usually energetic child. Then they would go back to hating him. Luck however, was on Naruto's side as the young man noticed the whisker marks and bandages, and his smile turned to a frown. "I wish I could have been there…"

The woman gave him a dark smile that was full of satisfaction at her work. "Help me take Naruto-chan to the old monkey's house and I'll have Ibiki-kun give you the names," Naruto watched in fascination as the man smiled and they both put on a burst of insane speed. All the buildings and windows looked like distorted blurs to Naruto as he shot past them in seconds.

********************************************************

He wasn't sure when his savior and her friend had stopped running, or when he arrived at the home of the Hokage. The dazed child didn't even know when he had been placed on the couch in the Sarutobi clan's second floor living room. For Naruto, there had been the meeting of the energetic man and then boom, he found himself looking into the eyes of a young man with side burns and a growing goatee. Both males looked at each other for a moment, and then Naruto did what came natural to him when faced with a stranger. He screamed bloody murder.

"HHHHHEEEELLLLPPPP!"

"Now wait a second!"

"Ryuu Pinwa!"

CRASH!!!

Sarutobi Hiruzen ran into his living room as soon as he heard the shouting with a young five year old boy already on his heels in front of Gai. _That sounded like my musuko Asuma…I hope he isn't here because of what has happened. _Thinking about rift that had grown between the two Sarutobi brought other memories to surface. Memories that he couldn't spare the time to think about if he wanted to protect Naruto. He frowned seriously and narrowed his eyes. _Better hope that Reihitsu-kun has calmed down some…Who am I kidding? She's never calm._

With that thought in mind, Hiruzen, most commonly addressed as Sarutobi, along with Gai and the boy, surveyed the living room carefully and found an interesting sight to behold. If both men hadn't known Reihitsu as well as they did, they would have picked their jaws up from the ground.

As the case was, the two ANBU assigned to guard duty for the Hokage and his family arrived last, and their masks almost fell off in shock. Sarutobi Asuma, one of the twelve guardians of the Fire Country's Daimyo, a powerful chunin in his own right, was currently pinned underneath the foot of a young woman one year his junior and shorter than him. To further dumbfound the ANBU guards, Naruto was clapping happily at Reihitsu who was smirking down at Asuma from where she stood.

Naruto had no idea what was going on other than Reihitsu had once again saved him. To him, all that mattered was Reihitsu had protected and nothing else. He had no idea who Reihitsu had just pinned with only a single taijutsu as well as sheer speed and power. Sadly, the moment ended when Sarutobi cleared his throat and Reihitsu looked over to the small audience. "Reihitsu-kun, while I appre-,"

"Kousei-chan, I want you to meet someone!" Reihitsu completely ignored the Hokage and the five year old immediately walked over to her. She smiled down at the boy who returned the smile then turned to Naruto with a simple sweeping hand gesture. "Kousei-chan, meet Naruto-chan. Naruto-chan, meet my son Kousei-chan." The two boys looked at each other and Naruto gulped.

He was definitely shorter than the older boy in front of him, though both shared the same type of appearance; hard to miss. The young boy had the normal standard black hair of a civilian, but the eyes were a shocking dark ash color. Combined with the fact that the boy was wearing black wrappings on his arms and legs from his dark red shirt and midnight blue pants were enough to make Naruto shrink away from him.

The boy looked at Naruto's cheeks, then up to his eyes and then to his hair before finally speaking. "Shohou Kousei," he held out his hand to Naruto who stared at his hand and sniffed it. Kousei made no other action than to patiently wait as Naruto took the hand and blinked. "Koose-kun…?"

"Kousei-ani ototo," Sarutobi's eyes widened while Naruto began to shake with joy from the simple statement. The older boy gave a small smile, and helped Naruto off the couch. _That's my little Kousei…_Sarutobi snapped out of his trance and gave Reihitsu a tired look, only for the young woman to pick up both boys in her arms, still pinning Asuma down with her foot.

Gai chuckled at the scene of Reihitsu hugging the two boys happily while the ANBU were still standing in shock at the scene. "Surely you didn't think Reihitsu-kun would let Naruto-kun's flames of youth be subject to any more storms Hokage-sama," Though his energy was back, Sarutobi knew that Gai was being completely serious. Even Asuma could tell that Gai was barely holding back his anger about the treatment of the blond in question.

"Of course not, but I would like to see my musuko before he dies of humiliation," Reihitsu rolled her eyes and removed her foot from Asuma's chest. "Thank you, now as for-,"

"Kaa-san **will** adopt my ototo Hokage-sama," The ANBU stared at Kousei in surprise at his suddenly cold tone along with his fierce glare. One thumb was already in his mouth and resting underneath one of his notably sharp canine teeth. An ANBU moved to intercept but was blocked off by Gai who shook his head at the other ANBU.

While it seemed impossible for a child to have the strength or jutsu to take on even an older shinobi such as his dad, Asuma eyed Kousei wearily. Even though he was only five, Kousei was a Shohou, and as his friend Kakashi had once put it "For Shohou, blood means life. Mess with them, and they will take your life," Asuma carefully placed himself between his father and Reihitsu, keeping an eye on Kousei's entire body in case he decided to really act.

"That's my little Kousei-chan…now let oji-sama speak," The two ANBU were now officially confused about the mother and son who went from motherly to serious within a second. "If it's something stupid, then you may use it," Reihitsu's offer was accepted and Kousei lowered his hand as Naruto looked at the older boy's finger curiously.

Sarutobi shook his head and signaled the all clear to his ANBU who nodded slowly, then left. He went through a long string of handseals and a barrier was put up around the entire house so no sound could get out. "First of all, Ibiki and Anko have already picked up your…present…"

Reihitsu snickered at the word while Naruto quietly listened to the conversation. He remembered hearing the word Ibiki before, but he couldn't remember where. "Good, and what about that prick I dealt with?" she asked, her tone changing with the word to Naruto's confusion but Kousei just gave him a reassuring look as if the word was normal. "…And what's wrong with me adopting Naruto-chan as my musuko?"

"Mitarashi Anko has also wished to adopt him, as well as Hyuuga Hikaru just as you have Reihitsu-kun," This made said kunoichi pause for a moment in thought. _Naruto-chan is like Anko-kun in a lot of ways, and Hikaru-kun already has experience…_Kousei watched his mother tilt her head to one side and then back to the other side. He noticed Naruto also watching Reihitsu's head tilting, though with more curiosity than the older boy. Sarutobi also watched the fiery kunoichi as she stopped tilting her head after a few minutes of thinking. _She's reached a decision though I do think she has made the right decision…_

Gai on the other hand saw the glint in Reihitsu's eyes as well as the smile on her face and braced himself for the result. "Gai-kun, find Anko-chan and tell her to pack her bags up! She's moving into the compound tonight," Sarutobi's jaw hit the floor in surprise as Gai nodded and left in a puff of smoke. The reaction from Sarutobi was enough to make Naruto laugh happily at the Sandaime's antics while Kousei settled for a knowing smirk. "No little chunin of mine is going to try raising a kid solo and Hikaru-kun can just visit with Hinata-chan anytime she wants," The Hyuuga Heiress' name caused Naruto to perk up with surprise. _Hime can visit me…Hime…_

The Hokage just sputtered in disbelief while Asuma just stared at Reihitsu completely dumbfounded by her plan. Naruto looked from Reihitsu to Kousei excitedly since he had heard his friend's name. "Hime-chan can visit?"

"Of course she can visit Naruto-chan! Our house is just a few blocks from her house musuko," Small blue eyes widened as Reihitsu gave him a big smile. The two words 'our' and 'house' were never together in same sentence as his name like that before. The meaning of such a simple pair of sentences hit Naruto like an Akimichi at a buffet table. He actually had a home that he could go to instead of sleeping underneath the park benches or underneath the slides. For a child who had been ostracized and only just recently began enduring beatings, a house was a fairytale dream.

Naruto's eyes began tearing up as a smile broke out onto his face and he buried his head into Reihitsu's shoulders. _No, not Reihitsu-san...Kaa-san…_He corrected himself as Reihitsu began humming a little lullaby to help him fall asleep. All the events had already taken their toll on the three year old and the adults in the room found it incredible that Naruto wasn't asleep sooner. Sarutobi broke out of his stupor and gave the family-to-be a gentle smile as his eyes drifted over to Asuma. _Sometimes we need to see the happiness of another before we realize what we ourselves might miss. _The Hokage gave a deep sigh while Reihitsu quietly set her son down and he quickly ran over to balcony and jumped up onto the rail. _Perhaps the Shohou clan is the family that Naruto-kun needs the most right now…_

"…I see there is nothing I can do to stop you, is there?" The aged Hokage gave a wrinkled smile to the kunoichi who shook her head. "Very well, I will come by tomorrow with the adoption papers," His smile widened a bit when he heard Reihitsu groan at the idea of paperwork.

"Whatever… See ya' oji-sama, smokes," With a nod to her son, she joined him on the rail as he gathered his chakra again and together they took off across the village rooftops. The father and son watched as the trio faded away into the distance before Sarutobi turned to Asuma. Both men looked at each other for a moment before heading down stairs to mend their own wounds with each other…

************************************************************

A couple of hours later, Naruto woke up from his nap to find himself in a well lit room on top of a comfy cushion. He panicked for a moment when he didn't see Reihitsu. But the panic quickly left him when Kousei came into view with a familiar face walking beside him. It took Naruto a few minutes to identify the teenager's face at Kousei's side until his eyes locked onto the woman's, and his face broke out into a smile.

"Ane-chan!" He shouted as he jumped into the air and the young teenage woman caught him. Olive green eyes meet cerulean blue eyes before the two shared a warm hug while Kousei smiled at them. "Look ani-chan, ane-chan!"

The five year old nodded and Naruto noticed something was off about Kousei. He looked him over once, twice, and thrice before he scratched his head in bewilderment. "What's wrong ototo?" the teenager asked while tracing Naruto's gaze over to Kousei. Naruto suddenly let out a gasp and pointed at Kousei with astonishment.

"Ani-chan has marks like kaa-san!" He had finally noticed what was different about Kousei. He no longer had his bandages on his legs or his arms. Without them on, Kousei's arms and legs were visible with a slightly paler skin color than his mother's tanned skin. As his mother had the same kanji on each hand, so did Kousei have a pair of marks on his hands. Unlike Reihitsu's though, his symbol was a simple line connecting to an empty half circle near each set of knuckles with one small dash going through the line. "Sugoi_, _he has tattoos!"Naruto looked for any more of the marks and found a pair of twin jagged lines above Kousei's ankle.

The older boy chuckled and shook his head at Naruto's claim. "Not tattoos, hyoushou," Kousei corrected while pointing to one of the marks on his hands. Before he could continue, there was a knock at the door which was promptly swung open to reveal a smiling Reihitsu. "Ohayo kaa-san," She looked at Kousei with a smile before turning to Naruto. "Anko-ane-chan is settled now," he added calmly to Reihitsu's joy.

"Good, then we can get Nearuto's welcome ceremony over with and get to the food!" The kunoichi exclaimed, already having staked out what her children were going to have. She turned around and began walking down the hallway until she ran back to the room. Both Anko and Naruto were staring at her in confusion while Kousei cleared his throat loudly. "Come on you two, the ceremony is for both of you," Reihitsu disappeared from sight again while Kousei motioned for Anko and Naruto to follow him.

Now that he was awake and Anko was walking at a steady pace behind Kousei, Naruto took the opportunity to look around the Shohou compound. Anko began to follow suit only for Kousei to lead them through a past a couple of large doors to the outside. Shortly after that, they were now inside a new building and both Anko and Naruto stared in surprise at the number of Shohou that turned to them.

Almost half of the group consisted of young adults just a few years older than Reihitsu with a couple being more than five years older. The rest consisted of small children ranging from just two years older than Kousei to two newborns who oddly silent. _I wonder where kaa-san is. She should be here somewhere…_

While Naruto looked around for Reihitsu, Anko focused on four elderly Shohou standing in front of a small section of the building. Each of them wore dark clothes and as they approached them, Anko caught a glimpse of violet hair as well as a flash of white hair behind the four elders. Kousei indicated for them to stop and Anko lowered Naruto to the ground before turning to the elders. Their young guide walked past the elders towards his mother while the line of elders opened to let Kousei past. Naruto nervously took a hold of Anko's hand and squeezed while looking from each elder with a gulp.

"Uzumaki Naruto, come forward," A fifth elder walked towards them from behind the line of dark clothes with Kousei in tow, followed by Reihitsu. The young boy nodded and Anko set him down on the ground before the elder. He didn't know if the man or the rest of the Shohou liked him or not, but a single look at Reihitsu in the large black jacket she wore and Kousei's bandages washed away any fears he had. _I'm not a demon, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. _With that in mind, he took a few steps forward until he was standing in front of the elder as he gazed down at small blond three year old before him.

The man's hazel eyes seemed to look straight through him as if peering into his soul. He seemed to pause for a moment at finding what he was searching for, and looked at the adults and children waiting for him to speak. "I am Uzumaki Nawuto," he lowered his head in shame yet no one laughed at him.

Instead, Naruto felt someone placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked to see a scarred tanned hand resting there. "Lift your head up strong Uzumaki Naruto and show me your eyes," He gathered as much courage as he could muster and lifted his head up to look at the man straight in his eye. _I am Uzumaki Naruto. I am Uzumaki Naruto! _The man seemed to read his thoughts as he gave him a brief smile before moving his hand up to the edge of his black kimono. "I can see in your eyes that many have tried to hurt you for what is inside of you," Naruto looked a little confused at him as Anko began to worry for Naruto. "They wish to hurt you because of the burden the Yondaime has given you as the prison of the fox king Kyuubi,"

Anko stiffened in shock at the man's blunt statement while Naruto began shaking in disbelief. He didn't notice the lack of glares shot at him or that many of the Shohou were beginning to slowly kneel on the floor. _Kyuubi is inside of me?_ The memories of the three shinobi calling him a demon flashed in his mind. _…Then I am a demon…I am the Kyuubi…_

Naruto began softly crying at the man's words as he slowly accepted what the villagers had called him. He gave out a heartbreaking sob as Kousei's eyes narrowed at Naruto, but not at him. Not at the boy who could barely pronounce his name properly. Kousei held no hate for Uzumaki Naruto, and he felt himself growing angrier as Naruto continued to sob.

In a single moment, the elder pulled the material off his shoulder followed by the other. Naruto was still sobbing and did not hear the gasp from Anko as she looked at the aged man's chest. "Do not shed your tears over the lies you have been told. Look at me Uzumaki Naruto, jailor and prison of the Kyuubi!"

Naruto stopped in mid-sob at the sound of his name, not the name of the demon inside of him. The man called him by his name and the demon by another a name. _Wait…he called me Naruto…the demon is Kyuubi, and I'm Naruto. _Slowly as the real meaning of the man's words broke through the memories, Naruto lifted up his head and gazed upon the man with wide eyes. The sight before him dispelled what few lies tried to linger in his head from the villagers as the other four elders kneeled to Naruto one by one.

_So many scars, he's been hurt a lot. _The man's entire upper body was covered in scars that ranged in size and shape as well as appearance. A few looked as if they were quite old while others looked as if they had only begun to heal. His left arm bore a large jagged scar from his shoulder blade to his elbow while his right arm had several crisscross scars as if a beast had clawed him. Naruto's eyes moved from the scars to the 'tattoos' he also had, two of which looked like Kousei's own 'tattoos' but more intricate and intimidating. Both looked like small anchors but with a line connecting from the bottom semi-circle to the middle dash. He stood there in awe at the man as he knelt down before Naruto and with one scarred hand, gently wiped away Naruto's tears.

"I know your pain better than all but the others like you do. You are young, yet you have endured as much pain as I have…" The man placed his hand on Naruto's shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. A small part of Naruto was unsure if the man was right or not, but he felt that somehow this man **did **know pain like his own. "Our blood is feared for what we can do with it. I have been tortured and refused treatment by enemies outside, and within our village because of what is inside of me, inside of my clan and my own grandchildren," He gestured to Kousei and then gently turned Naruto around, and found the entire clan of Shohou, with the exception of Reihitsu and her son, kneeling before him.

All of the children gave Naruto a look of great respect even though they couldn't fully express why, and the two newborns still slept in reverence of the moment. _They respect me, they know who I am. And they don't hate me. _The dumbfounded child turned around to the man and found him smiling down at him with understanding of his surprise. "….I…I…arigatou…"

"No Naruto-kun…arigatou," He nodded his head at the man and the two bowed to each other in respect as Anko smiled through her tears. The two slowly rose up to face the crowd together and the man lifted Naruto up in his arms. "My fellow clansmen, I, Shohou Han, accept Uzumaki Naruto into our clan as my grandson, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto. Who else will accept him?"

One of the new mothers stood up with her newborn in her arms and spoke. "I, Shohou Togu accept Uzumaki Naruto into our clan as my cousin and my daughter's godfather, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto."

A pair of men stood up. "We, Shohou Chizu and Chizu-cho accept Uzumaki Naruto into our clan as our cousin, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto."

Anko smiled and stepped forward proudly. "I, Shohou Mitarashi Anko accept Uzumaki Naruto into our clan as my little brother, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto!"

Every adult and every child that could speak did and proudly claimed Naruto as a relative, and a member of the clan. The young blond could only smile and cry with joy at each member of his clan. _My clan…my family…_As the last of the elders finished accepting Naruto, Reihitsu and Kousei stepped forward while Naruto noticed a small violet haired girl with gray eyes staring at him.

The trio smiled at Naruto including the two year old and she tugged on Kousei's sleeve. He nodded to her and stepped forward with the little girl holding onto his hand. "I, Shohou Kousei, with my sister's permission to speak for her, accept Uzumaki Naruto into our clan as our brother, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto."

Reihitsu smiled at her two children before walking up Naruto and Han proudly, and gave Han a wide grin. With little effort, she took Naruto in her arms, holding him as if he were her own flesh and blood, and addressed the entire clan.

"I, Shohou Kagami Reihitsu, matriarch of our clan the Shohou, on behalf of my husband Shohou Toan and as a Kagami," she put her free thumb to a canine and with one swift motion, cut her thumb and began to make a mark on Naruto's shoulder. "Do hereby adopt as my own flesh and blood, Uzumaki Naruto," The young woman finished the mark and showed the mark to the rest of the clan. A pair of curved lines pointed in on a single dot with a small line in between the top parts seemed to glow in the light of the room as Naruto smiled. "As my son, brother to my children, godfather to my cousin, cousin to my cousins, and grandson of my father-in-law," Everyone seemed to tense up as Reihitsu gave Naruto a heartwarming smile before she turned to the clan. "Shohou Uzumaki Naruto, a scion of the Kagami, and one of the Shohou!"

The entire room exploded into cheers and applause as Naruto cried in joy at his new family. Even the children were happily whistling and clapping in celebration for Naruto who didn't even bother to wipe away his tears.

_**So the child is now one of the Shohou and Kagami as well, interesting....**_Dark red eyes flickered in the sewer light as Kyuubi watched Han cut his own thumb and added his own mark onto Naruto's other arm. The aged man placed his finger in a small vial that one of the other elders provided while he began to speak to Naruto about the mark. _**Perhaps I will stay awake to see what is to come, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto. **_

Naruto didn't hear the laughter coming from the cell of his tenant as he listened to Han's words while the rest of the clan began bringing in tables and chairs. He nodded in understanding and then his eyes widened in surprise as food was brought in along with drinks and plates. The young boy was distracted from Han for a minute, only for his new grandfather to urge him to eat to his heart's content. Naruto's new brother and sister lead him to his cousin Togu and introduced him to his new goddaughter. She was too young to see yet, but she immediately made a happy little noise at his presence that caused everyone within earshot to brighten up even more.

There was no hatred in the room for Naruto, even when he accidently bumped into one of the elders; the aged woman simply guided him back to Kousei and his sister, advising him to stay near the walls for his first party. Within an hour, Naruto had forgotten all about the attack and was happily letting his little sister trace the Hyoushou that Han had drawn onto his forearm.

_It is one of the many enhancement type Hyoushou that only we Shohou can create. This is part of our life and now part of your life, we call…_Naruto smiled at the memory as his little sister began to doze off while the adults continued to talk and warmly speak with Anko as well as Reihitsu. His life had been hell, and in one single night, he had been given a new one in his own family, his own clan, and his own heritage that he could be proud of and respect.

"Ketsueki Fude…"

* * *

*smiles* At last, the first chapter of my new Naruto Fanfic, and hopefully one of my best works so far. Heavy in OCs, but crucial to the storyline and Naruto will get back to being the star of the fanfic. Can't have a star without his support.

Names will be translated next time, and the next chapter will feature the Ketsueki Fude and a twist for Naruto as well as the timeskip to the major event to come soon...The Uchiha Massacre!

**Translations:**

**Hai - (when used as a noun) ash**

**Fuschichou - phoenix, literally; firebird**

**Ryuu - dragon**

**Pinwa - pin wheel**

**Hyoushou - emblem or mark**

**Hime - Princess**

**ani, ane - older brother, older sister**

**ototo - younger brother**

**Ketsueki Fude - Blood Writing Brush  
**

Read and review please, and I will read and reply back, thank you!


	2. Of Bloodlines, Clans, and Bullies?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto unfortunately. I do own my OCs and my own original bloodlines, especially the Tenshigan and the Ketsueki Fude. Too bad I can only have one and still have the chakra to run from S-Class shinobi…hm, tough choice.

Thanks and thank yous go out to those of you who reviewed, Dragon Man 180, Crimson Reaver, Neomax-Phazon, and the numerous others who's reviews helped me to keep working on this fanfic. Hope everyone continues to like this fanfic!

"Speech"

"_**Demon speech"**_

_Thought_

_**Demon thought**_

* * *

_**Blessing from a Curse**_

Chapter 2: Of Bloodlines, Clans, and Bullies?

(**Three Years Later, Shohou Clan Compound)**

Morning, the enemy of every child no matter their background, came all too quickly for one young blond in Konoha. He had already taken care of his alarm with a lazy flick of the wrist and a dead on hit with a throwing knife before the morning light began peeking through his window blinds. Part of him knew he had to get up soon to get dressed for the day, but the other part just wanted to relax for another hour of rest.

That was not to be though as a pair of knocks on his door drove the point home. He would have to wake up now and get ready regardless.

"Come on Naruto-ani-chan, we have to go now and I want to see Shino-kun!"

"Go on ahead then nee-chan, you and Shino-kun can talk while I sleep in another hour,"

Naruto smirked when he heard Shiika shout at him about sticking together. As he moved to bury his head underneath the covers, the other voice decided to even the score between the two siblings.

"Hinata-kun will probably be waiting for you at the room ototo,"

"Shit shit shit, BAKUSHIN (Dash)!"

There was a loud humming sound for a minute as a certain six year old blond was getting dressed, checking his gear, and finally nodding in satisfaction at his attire after quickly deactivating his Hyoushou with a quick hand seal. _Man I love the Bakushin Hyoushou. I really need to thank you helping to supercharge it for me. _A dark chuckle rang out in Naruto's mind as he opened the door and let his siblings into his room. _**"You can pay me back by letting me spend some time with your kaa-san. That's all I humbly request my dear jailer."**__ Request denied so stop it. _The six year-old narrowed his eyes at his tenant while the girl tilted her head in confusion at Naruto's frown.

"What's Kyuubi-san saying now?"

Naruto gave a sigh and then smiled as he looked over at his little sister. She had grown in the past three years to admire her elder brothers for their own unique traits. Kousei was more reserved than the other two, but could relax with them and have fun. Naruto on the other hand, was the hero of the village and prison for Kyuubi, something which she had told him as soon as she learned of it.

The year after Naruto was adopted into the clan as her brother along with Anko as her sister, Shiika had been told of the Kyuubi's presence as a prisoner within Naruto, mainly because Reihitsu thought it was stupid to hide it from family. As she had put it, it was better that the children know the truth before some moron fed them lies. Naruto smiled at the memory for a moment, he really did see the truth in his kaa-san's blunt logic as Shiika had simply asked him if he could talk to Kyuubi that night before they went to bed. He had managed to do so during meditation, though the time it took to get into the state of mind required was not worth the effort. Seeing the benefit from the idea however, Reihitsu had made it part of his training to establish a simple mental connection to Kyuubi through persuasion. It had taken him half a year, but by the time he was four, Naruto had spoken with the powerful fox and established the connection allowing him to converse with the Kyuubi by thinking his reply. Since that night two years ago when he promised he would, he had always told Shiika whatever his tenant talked to him about that was important. _Go screw yourself fuzzy ass, and stay away from my kaa-san!_

Kyuubi cackled in pleasure at Naruto's anger while on the outside he just shook his head with disgust. Both of his siblings gave him a confused look until he explained the conversation to them. "He still wants to see our kaa-san, again…"

"Bad Kyuubi-san, stay away from kaa-san," The girl chided Naruto's stomach as both boys laughed at their sister.

"Looks like kaa-san has rubbed off on our nee-chan," Kousei chuckled while Naruto snickered at his tenant's annoyance.

Kyuubi shook his head at the trio's antics before stretching out with a long yawn. _"__**I can't help if she's hot for a human her age and size. You better hope I don't decide to add some more changes to you from inside this cage brat." **_Naruto snorted at the warning while Kousei raised an eyebrow at his brother's action. _Kind of hard to take your threats seriously when you keep trying to hit on my kaa-san inside my head._

The eldest of trio glanced at the clock in the room before signaling to his two younger siblings. "Time to head out," He lifted up one hand in a seal while the other two followed suit and as one voice activated the same Hyoushou.

"Bakushin!"

Naruto felt the rush of chakra surge through his legs before he took off after his siblings. He remembered the day his mentor, Togu, had told him about what helped the clean to create the Hyoushou, the Ketsueki Fude…

_Two and a half years ago…_

_"Okay Naruto-chan you have two months of catching up to do, and first thing you need to know as a Shohou is our kekkai genkai, the Ketsueki Fude," A three year old Naruto nodded at his cousin Togu while Reihitsu bounced Shiika on her knee. Naruto's goddaughter, Eishi, was being fed the natural way as was Shohou custom for all Shohou babies with Naruto attentively listening to his cousin's words. "Unlike the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, our kekkai genkai is active even before birth." Naruto gasped at the revelation and his jaw dropped to the ground in disbelief._

_"Wait, I don't see it…" He looked at her eyes and then over to Shiika's with a frown. Neither one had pupil-less eyes nor the funny dots around their pupils to his disappointment while Togu giggled at his assumption._

_"It's not a doujutsu Naruto-chan, actually, our blood is our kekkai genkai," The small three year old boy tilted his head in confusion while Togu looked around for another Shohou to help her. As luck would have it, Chizu poked his head and searched them room with a frown before spotting Reihitsu._

_The two twins were Naruto's favorite male cousins as they had a mischievous nature like he did when it came to having fun, and were eager to introduce him to the world of pranks. Both were identical even down to their Hyoushou and speech, though Han was able to tell them apart by his sheer skill and experience. Other than Han, Naruto himself was able to tell which cousin he was talking to by sheer luck which seemed to be unusually high for a three year old. "Oh hi there itoko, Hokage-sama is asking for your presence Lady Reihitsu, it's about the adoption papers…"_

_"Hag and hack were present with the old geezer again?"_

_"I'm afraid they were Lady Reihitsu,"_

_The matriarch of the Shohou clan snorted and with Shiika still in her arms, stood up and walked out of the room with a string of curses following her. Even as she walked down the hallway and headed towards the compound gate she could still be heard cursing the village's council. Reihitsu even threw in a few words that had made Anko turn bright red at the implications and had to dump her canteen over her head just to get the images out of her mind. _

_Chizu winced at a particularly explicit curse involving a pair of spears, some steel wire and puppetry before turning to Naruto and Togu. He flinched at the next method of torture involving some nails and explosive tags before closing the door, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. "She's going to kill them for sure this time…anyway, how is the history lesson going Togu-kun?"_

_"Actually I could use your help Chizu-kun, I need you to give Naruto-chan a simple demonstration of the Ketsueki Fude for me," Togu gestured to Eishi and the young man gave her a nod and a knowing look. The young blond looked between them in confusion at the silent conversation until Togu turned to him as Chizu put his thumb to his canine and cut it. "I still need to recover from having Eishi-chan for at least six more months, as I told you in our biology and anatomy lesson last week," Naruto nodded as he remembered the simple explanation while not being directly told about the birds and the bees, and gave Eishi a big smile before turning back to Togu. He didn't fully understand all the terms she used, but he knew enough to know that the stork was a hoax. The fact that only women could have babies was proof enough for him and he didn't want to know anything else other than the facts. "Eishi-chan was born with less chakra in her system, but she still has the same level that any normal baby has. You see Naruto-chan, because our chakra is so potent, our systems can't accommodate all the potent chakra without straining our bodies,"_

_Naruto nodded again and his gaze drifted over to Chizu who was drawing an intricate symbol consisting of a line going through a circle. Around the circle were four dashes and a fifth dash going through the middle of the line. He watched as Chizu popped a small tube opened and jabbed his thumb into the liquid while focusing a bit of his chakra into the symbol on his palm. _

_"Tsurugi,"_

_In a flash of dark red, the symbol glowed and a small sword appeared in his hand of dark red color that he swung a few times in the air before smiling at Naruto. He was amazed at the blade that his cousin now held in his hand. "Cool!"_

_"That is what makes our bloodline special. We can use the potent chakra that is filtered into our bloodstream during our development and draw them as a Hyoushou," Togu gestured to the other Hyoushou on the back of Chizu's hands. They were similar to Kousei's but had a second dash at the top. "By awakening the dormant chakra in the Hyoushou with our normal potent chakra, we can use our own form of jutsus that cannot be copied even by the Sharingan," Togu proudly explained as Chizu made a small hand symbol and the blade turned to ash along with the symbol on his palm. Naruto stared at his two cousins in awe before breaking out into a big smile. "That is the Ketsueki Fude's curse that gives us poor control, but blesses us with great potential and a great gift…"_

_End Flashback_

_"__**You do remember that because of me you most likely have the Ketsueki Fude too right?"**_ Naruto gave an acknowledging sigh as he ran across the rooftops with Shiika between him and Kousei. They were going at a speed mid-level chunin were capable of, yet in short bursts instead of a long dash. _I remember, and I would thank the two chunin and the jonin too if kaa-san hadn't put them in the hospital after they had been let out. _The large fox king laughed instead of growling as he remembered seeing the faces of the council when they tried to charge Reihitsu with assault. Three of the civilian members had to take a week of sick leave while they recovered in their body casts and two shinobi members had to stay a few days to recover from their beatings. In the end, the council had backed off when Sarutobi had arrived with a furious Han who promptly had his two guards escort Reihitsu and Naruto back to the compound. _Man I don't want to get on oji-san's bad side even once. I could still hear him roaring for two weeks. __**"…Though it would be refreshing to see someone break down from a verbal assault, you are still not ready to defend yourself properly."**_Naruto mentally nodded in agreement and almost missed his jump but Kousei and Shiika had grabbed one arm each and together, carried him over to the next roof.

"Arigatou Kousei-ane-kun, Shiika-nee-chan," Both of them smiled at Naruto before all three finished the rest of the journey to the academy with a larger burst of speed from the Bakushin. _…Thank you for saving me Kyuubi-sama…_The large fox blinked at the respect in his jailor's thoughts as well as the sincerity of his words. He didn't reply immediately as he mulled over the words before finally speaking. _**"Don't expect it again brat. I won't save your pathetic excuse for a life every time you get in over your head." **_Naruto smiled at Kyuubi's way of saying "you're welcome" as they reached the academy and split up into two groups. Kousei headed to the advanced class while Naruto lifted Shiika onto his back and with a final use of the Bakushin, headed to the first year classroom...

*******************************************************

Though it was the first day of the academy for the first year students, only a few of them were in their seats instead of waiting outside for the bell to ring. Most of the students would be a mix of children from small shinobi families who had yet to reach clan numbers, or civilian families and clans. The minority of the students left were from the shinobi clans of prestige and skill, five of which already had representation in the classroom in a small awkward cluster. Despite being all children, one or two had already begun training before entering the academy in their family's own secret jutsus.

First and the easiest to notice is one Akimichi Chouji, one of the three heir's to the Ino-Shika-Cho cell. Each cheek sported a simple red swirl mark while the boy wore a simple green jacket and black shorts. Though he still had some of his baby fat still left, Chouji's clan were all naturally big boned and not to be mistaken for fat. On either side of the Akimichi heir sat the other two heirs to the Ino-Shika-Cho cell. To his left sat Nara Shikamaru, wearing a simple gray shirt and black shorts with his hair pulled back to look like a pineapple from the side. Even though they had only met recently, the two already had forged a bond that would only grow when they become comrades in arms.

To the right of Chouji sat the last of the three cell heirs, Yamanaka Ino, the only girl of the trio though not the only one in the classroom. With her short blond hair, she might have passed off as a female Uzumaki but her green eyes were that of a Yamanaka. She wore a simple orange shirt that hung on her frame by two small yet thick straps, and a pair of simple purple shorts. Ino was happily chatting to Chouji about being in the same class as her two childhood friends, occasionally shooting a glare at the napping Shikamaru before going back to her conversation with Chouji.

Next to the Yamanaka heiress sat the current heiress of the noble Hyuuga clan, one of the most important shinobi houses in all of Konoha; Hyuuga Hinata. Three years had changed her very little in personality and appearance, still the timid and shy girl who had met Naruto three years earlier. She had the same pale skin, dark blue hair and lavender eyes, and had kept her two long bangs that she had first started up as a toddler. The only change to Hinata was her clothes as she wore a simple black shirt hidden by her two sizes too big jacket with the symbol of the Hyuuga proudly displayed on her sleeve. If not for the fact she had the sleeves pulled back, one would have assumed she had no arms or hands at all due to the long sleeves.

Last of the five sat beside Hinata and had remained silent, only breaking his silence earlier in order to return Hinata's polite greeting. The young boy's clan was infamous for the large jackets and trench coats they always wore and his own pale forest green jacket was a telltale sign of his clan. Aburame Shino was a prime example of any of the Aburame clan, silent, observant, reserved, and above all, non-social. But for an Aburame, socialization was a very low priority outside of life or death situations and in public they would barely say anything or than a simple greeting to anyone else. There was a sixth person in the room, but all attention was quickly diverted to the new arrivals as they made their entrance as one large black blur.

Ino gave a shout of surprise as the blurs came to a screeching halt and she began fuming in anger at the accidental scare. She was too caught up in her anger to notice the blush that had formed on Hinata's cheeks or Shino turning his head to the two new arrivals as if he had expected them to arrive. "What the hell are you doing scaring us like that?"

"Don't yell at my ani-chan!"

"Why you little brat-,"

"-I would not finish my sentence if I were you Ino-kun,"

Ino and Chouji both suddenly turned to Shino in shock at the boy's sudden break in silence while Shikamaru lazily opened one eye. He gave a yawn and looked around at the newly arrived Shiika and Naruto before groaning. "There goes my nap…"

"It's Shino-kun!"

Shiika jumped onto the first desk and her ankle's glowed underneath their bandages for a brief moment to Ino's surprise before she gave Shino a flying tackle. To the boy's credit, he didn't budge an inch and caught the young Shohou who happily giggled before hugging Shino's neck warmly. "Ohayo Shiika-san, I see you made it,"

"Yep, and its Shiika-kun, not Shiika-san!" The little girl announced with a big grin on her face. Like all Shohou, she wore dark clothes but a small dark green tank top with fishnet coming over her stomach. Each arm had gray bandages wrapped around them up to the wrist where she wore a pair of unusual gloves with metal on the back for protection, but left the palms uncovered completely. Over her tank top was a small dark purple vest with two tubes held in each pair of the front pockets that rested near her stomach. Instead of the open tobi that the other children wore, Shiika wore a pair of custom made tobi that even covered her toes. Last of all was her black shorts that reached a little past knees and the gray bandages wrapped over the rest of her legs to her ankles.

"You can't be six years old…" Ino said aloud while eyeing Shiika wearily, missing the sudden increase in Hinata's blush as she caught sight of Naruto. She wanted to tell Ino but her throat had already begun to dry up and all she could utter was a soft "ah" sound. "No way, you're too short to be here," Her subject gave an odd cat like smile before a shiver went down her spine.

Shino hid a small smirk behind his collar as Ino turned around to face a slightly taller Naruto who calmly stared at her until she slowly sat down with a gulp. He turned his attention away from Ino and his gaze fixed itself on Hinata who gave a small gasp as she looked over her crush slowly, taking in his appearance and putting it to memory. _N-naruto-kun is…h-h-handsome…_In spite of his lighter skin and features, Naruto wore the same theme of clothes as Shiika, but with several key differences.

His own shirt was a dark red color with the exception of a white spiral mark that was over his heart, hidden behind his own pitch black vest. While Shiika had just two tubes on each side of her vest, Naruto's vest appeared to have three tubes in the three front pockets on the left and right side each on the front of his vest. Both arms had gray bandages wrapped around them, but Naruto's shoulders were bare and proudly showed the Kagami mark Reihitsu had given him three years earlier. From the gray bandages at his wrists down, Naruto wore a pair of gloves similar to Shiika's but with the metal on the back being split into two sections instead of just one section. And while Shiika had a pair of simple shorts on, Naruto wore long black pants with a shuriken holster strapped to his right thigh with a red stripe going down the sides from his pockets to his ankles. On his waist was a small dark red bag with a metal clasp to keep the flap closed and he also wore a dark red choker around his neck that matched the dark red stripes on his fully closed tobi. The most notable difference though, was the dark red bandana that was tied around his forehead, pushing his spiky hair back to complete his dark and intimidating look.

Chouji and Ino both stared at Naruto with a bit of fear as a large toothy grin began to spread across his face and he gave Hinata a quick two-fingered salute. "Ohayo Hime-chan,"

That was it for poor Hinata. She could no longer blush any darker than she was already blushing and her body did the only thing possible when confronted with the new dark looking blond. Turn off all functions and reboot. In other words, faint. _N-n-naruto-kun…_The poor heiress could not form any other coherent thought than her crush's name along with the mental image of the young blond in his black and red clothes before she fainted.

Said blond immediately rushed over to his friend and began a quick scan to check for injuries. _No puncture wounds so it isn't from any poison or drug…_The blond began going through a list of possible illnesses he had been drilled in by his adopted aunt, the clan's head doctor. On top of his early education, Naruto was already very protective of his friends, especially those outside of the clan which were only Anko, the Ichiraku owner and his daughter, Ayame, and at the top of the small list, Hinata. _Okay, there's no sign of poisoning or bruising. _Kyuubi patiently waited for the blond to come to the right conclusion after the years of education that the Shohou had all but drilled into his head. The fox king was grateful for the early learning that his vessel was in desperate need of, and would continue to need if his taijutsu training was focusing on his natural speed and low strength both. _**To think that the brat has already memorized basic first aid and taijutsu with just the Shohou as his teachers...I have underestimated him. **_

Finding no injuries or symptoms other than her permanent blush, Naruto reached into his small bag and retrieved one of the brown tubes he had inside. Everyone watched as he removed the cork before moving it underneath his patient's nose. She didn't move at first until the strong scent hit her sense of smell and she began to wake up. _…Huh?…w-w-what happened_... Hinata opened her eyes slowly and stared up at one of the ceiling lights with Shino peering over her.

"S-s-shino-kun…" She slowly blinked and Shiika popped into view over Shino's shoulder as her blush began to fade away. "S-s-shiika-chan…what hap-,"

"You fainted again Hime-chan," Her eyes shot open and she immediately sat up to find Naruto at her side. The memories came rushing back to her along with her blush at how close her crush was.

"G-g-gomen Naruto-kun f-f-for fainting…"

The blond boy flashed his friend a smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it Hime-I mean Hinata-kun, you were just nervous right?"

"N-nervous…?"

"Yeah, you turned red and had a panic attack when I said your nickname,"

Everyone face-faulted in the room and Kyuubi smacked himself with his paw. _**Of all the possible reasons in the world and he comes up with the wrong one! **_The sixth person, now ninth person in the room, jumped up to his feet and shot Naruto a glare.

"What the hell?" He shouted and the small puppy on his head barked in agreement. "What kind of dumbass are you?"

"I know you are but what am I?" Naruto wisely shot back, much to the feral boy's anger. Despite his social awkwardness, the small blond soaked up everything else like a sponge much to his clan's great joy, including how to turn an insult back on its user. _Imagine if I didn't have Togu-ani-chan or Han-oji-san teaching me patience. _Kyuubi chuckled darkly inside of the giant cell, watching the enraged feral boy through Naruto's eyes. _**You would have shot your mouth off like the fleabag just did. **_Naruto gave a mental nod to his tenant before turning his attention back to the feral boy before he could notice.

"A dumbass you dumbass,"

"Wow, is that the only word you know?"

The boy roared and charged Naruto with the intent to strike him down. He had come in here in a flashy entrance as if he owned the academy, dressed up like he was an actual shinobi, and to top it all off, he was talking to the girl he had been eyeing! _I'll rip that blond-gaki to shreds!_

Naruto waited until the boy was just a couple of rows away before bringing up his arm with a frown and balled up his fist. He instinctively channeled a burst of chakra into his fist right as the feral boy leapt up to punch Naruto. The small puppy caught an overpowering scent of chakra mixed with blood, whining in an attempt to warn his master but it was too late.

"Tate (Shield)."

Flesh hit chakra as Inuzaka Kiba stared at the large violet-red shield emanating from Naruto's forearm, taking a large rectangular shape that was taller than Naruto himself. The blow had no effect on the shield or it's wielder who was still standing near Hinata who in turn, stared at him in awe at his calm demeanor.

"Appu (Burst)."

Kiba saw the glow of oddly pale red chakra a moment before Naruto's fist slammed into his face a split-second and he was sent flying across the room. The unlucky boy had only a short time to regret his attack before he collided with the wall in a singular loud WHAM!

Everyone with the exception of Shiika and Shino watched Kiba fall onto the floor completely knocked out while Naruto simply closed his eyes with a sigh and a quick hand seal. The shield faded out of existence and he turned to Hinata with a weak smile on his face as he crouched down beside her.

"Gomen Hime-kun, I thought he had rabies," He gave her another toothy grin and Hinata turned beat red before her body and mind once again shut down.

WHUMP!

"No! I'm sorry I said your nickname again! Aw crap..."

Shiika slapped her forehead in disbelief while Shino shook his head at Naruto's antics as he once again woke her up with the smelling salts. _This is going to be a long six years..._The bug user noted as he watched Hinata wake up again and mentally began estimating her next "panic attack".

Fortunately though, Naruto seemed to back off and instead switched seats with Shino, sitting with his second on his left and his closest friend on his right. Hinata blushed at the seating arrangement while taking the opportunity to look over at Shiika sitting beside Shino with a small smile.

"O-ohayo Shiika-c-chan,"

"Ohayo Hinata-kun!"

Shiika added a smile with her greeting while Naruto started up a conversation with Shino. The two talked about bugs much to Ino's disgust, though after a while of eavesdropping out of curiosity, she found herself paying attention to the discussion along with Choji. Almost half an hour later, even Shikamaru seemed to be listening to the conversation as Shino told Naruto about the differences between dayflies and dragonflies.

"…Dragonflies possess independent eyes; the dayfly does not and in addition, is unable to fly at a constant speed for long." Naruto let out a low whistle as the rest of the first year students began filing in along with one of the teachers.

"Man Shino-kun, you sure do know a lot about insects," The bug user gave a humble nod while Naruto leaned back for a moment. "But I guess you need to so you can protect your kikaichuu from other insects, right?"

"Correct. There are a few clans that possess contracts with the predators of the kikaichuu, though none of them at present contain shinobi Naruto-san," He replied as Shiika suddenly appeared on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck. "Shiika-san-,"

"-Shiika-kun, kun! I'm not even six yet Shino-kun,"

The blond jinchuuriki smirked at his friend while Hinata softly giggled at the pair. Ino on the other hand laughed out loud, causing a few of the girls and boys sitting near them to wince at her loud laught. All the while Shiika tried to convince Shino to say –kun instead of –san, Kiba was still out cold though now lying down on his desk courtesy of some of the other boys under the teacher's orders. His little canine simply shook his head at his master before he started to chase his tail out of boredom. The puppy's actions caught Shiika's eye and within a manner of seconds, she was crouched over the puppy with a big smile on her face.

More than half the classroom was staring at the young girl as she began playing with the puppy while a pair of cerulean blue eyes kept a careful watch. A few of the students noticed the whisker marks on Naruto's face from the warnings their parents had given them before going back to their own business. One of the boys traced Naruto's gaze to Shiika and sneered at her, only to find himself subject to a wave of killing intent from the jinchuuriki and bug user. Both of them had a fierce glare fixed on the boy that made many of the students shiver from the intensity of their eyes, even Shino who had his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

He quickly hid behind the desk leaving Naruto and Shino to frown at the coward and turned their attention back to Shiika along with their friends. The young jinchuuriki smiled as the puppy licked Shiika's face much to her joy and laughter before wagging his tail happily in response. Suddenly his gaze shifted for a moment as a raven haired boy wearing a black shirt and beige shorts stopped near Shiika to watch her, and Shino followed suit quietly.

Hinata noticed the intensity in her crush's eyes and quickly followed his gaze to the raven haired boy. She looked him over a few times before recognizing the emblem on the back of his shirt and gasped.

"T-that's the Uchiha emblem…"

Naruto looked over at Hinata who jumped a little from the eye contact with him. She quickly composed herself as Naruto looked back at the boy and joined him.

"Uchiha huh, Togu-sensei told me about them during our history lesson," He gave the boy a quick scan himself and relaxed. "They have the Sharingan right?"

"H-hai, why is he l-looking at Shiika-chan?" Hinata asked her friend and he shrugged.

"Hell if I know, but if he's looking for trouble…"

Naruto's pupil's seemed to turn to slits for a brief moment as he balled his hands up into fists. The young blond narrowed his eyes and his muscles tensed up as if preparing to strike, until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He relaxed and turned to see Hinata with a small blush on her cheeks and a gentle smile on her face.

"Shiika-chan w-will be f-fine Naruto-kun," She assured him as Shino nodded.

The boy watching Shiika remained standing in place, taking note of the puppy and child playing happily together. _She doesn't look like an Inuzaka._ He looked for any emblem on her clothes to identify but there was none to be found. _No clan emblem, and what's with the bandages anyway?_ Before he could continue to ponder, the subject of his thoughts vanished from sight, causing him to blink in surprise at her disappearance.

He had no warning before he felt a heavy weight on his back and a pair of gray eyes came into view as he turned around. Several girls gasped and glared at the girl as she peered up at the boy for a few minutes before breaking out into a smile.

"Ohayo!" She tilted her head to the side and looked at the boy again. "What's your name?"

The boy stared at Shiika for a minute, slightly taken aback by her blunt approach to him. He didn't think she had seen his shirt or else she would have been acting like one of the many fangirls already gossiping about him. If she was, then he had to find out and get rid of her fast.

"Uchiha Sasuke,"

She blinked at his name for a moment before her eyes seemed to become focused as she looked at him closely. "Is your kaa-san's name Mikoto?"

Sasuke was caught off guard by the question as well as the lack of reaction to his last name. He stared at Shiika for a moment while Naruto took a closer look at the reserved boy who nodded to the young girl in front of him.

"Hai, why do you ask?"

"My kaa-san said your kaa-san was nice and really powerful," Shiika replied innocently. "She also said she was a good friend too,"

"…I see. By the way, you never did give me your name," Sasuke said as put his hands into his pockets.

"Gomen, I'm Shohou Shiika, wanna be my friend?"

The Uchiha boy was dumbfounded to put it simply. He had heard a lot about the Shohou just by reading a history book on various clans in Konoha, though the majority of the information was from his own mother. It was a surprise at first but after he took a good look at Shiika's attire, Sasuke could tell that she could actually be considered a friend. That and she had shown none of the signs of a fan girl which was a bonus in his opinion.

"Sure,"

Shiika's face broke out into a large grin as the second teacher walked in with clipboard and hand. He glanced down at his watch for a moment, ignoring the gasps of some of the kids from seeing the scar on his face and he cleared his throat.

"All right class, find a seat so that we may begin on time,"

A good half of the female population already had their eyes on Sasuke, quickly checking around for an empty seat beside them so the Uchiha could sit there but most of them were full. One girl squealed as she looked from the empty seat beside her to the front with the beginnings of a plan taking shape in her mind. To her shock as well as others though, Shiika blocked them by taking Sasuke by the hand and in a blur of dark clothing, shot over to her seat beside Shino and sat down. Sasuke stared at his seat with dazed eyes before slowly sitting down while the entire class, except for the very few early ones, stared at Shiika in disbelief.

Naruto simply gave his sister a foxy smile and nodded in approval while Hinata added her own smile, though Shino's nod earned him a hug and a giggle from the small Shohou girl. The bug user didn't seem to react to the gesture although Naruto could tell by Shino's silence that he was actually smiling a bit behind his collar. He filed the observation away for the moment and turned his attention to the two teachers standing at the front of the room.

"My name is Umino Iruka and this is Touji Mizuki, for the next six years we will be your teachers and teach you all that we can to prepare you to become shinobi."

Everyone perked up at the statement, though not everyone was happy about the news. One blond boy in particular along with his adopted sister were discreetly eyeing the second man carefully as Iruka began talking about the curriculum. _Kaa-san is right; we shouldn't trust that man as far as we can throw him. His eyes keep shifting too much to be normal. _Shiika glanced over at Naruto who met her gaze and they silently gave a non-existent nod in agreement to each other. The silent conversation did not go unnoticed by Shino and Sasuke yet they brought out of their musings when Iruka began taking attendance.

"Aburame Shino?"

"Present…"

Naruto tuned out most of the names and people until Iruka reached the letter 'H' and his ears perked up when he heard two names in particular.

"Haruno Sakura?"

"Here…"

"Hyuuga Hinata?"

"H-here…"

The blond glanced over at the first name and scanned the unknown person. He first spotted the pink hair before taking a look at the rest of the person, identified as a girl, wearing a red outfit that only made her pink hair stand out even more. A second look pointed out the girl's forehead as being larger than normal, and Naruto could see several girls smirking at her as well as a couple of the boys too. The young jinchuuriki was not among them nor were his friends, along with Shiika who gave the girl a sad look followed by shooting a few glares at the girls and boys.

With one of the boy's face memorized, Naruto turned to Hinata who tapped her fingers nervously until he gave her a foxy smile to cheer her up. Unfortunately, the gesture also made her blush, and while Ino looked at the two for a moment with a smile, Iruka called out one name for the third time in a row.

"Inuzaka Kiba?"

"Ugh…here,"

Some of the kids snickered as Iruka glared at Kiba who was currently rubbing his sore head. He growled at the pain before shooting Shiika and Naruto a glare, only to be told off by Iruka for not responding on the second time his name was called. _Damn you blonde runt, I'll get you back for this! _Said blond just smiled at Kiba while Shiika stuck out her tongue at him.

Iruka resumed taking attendance and continued through the alphabet, pausing when he got to the S's and blinked. He checked his roll twice before looking around the classroom with a confused look on his face and called out the two names.

"…Shohou Naruto and Shohou Shiika?"

"Yo', right here Iruka-sensei,"

Everyone turned to look at Naruto and Shiika who simply smiled at everyone. The young blond was sitting up with his arms folded across his chest proudly showing off the Kagami mark on his shoulder. Some of the class saw his whisker marks and began whispering yet Naruto simply shrugged them off and shot a glare back at one boy with Shiika joining him.

The confused chunin looked from one sibling to the other and then looked down at his clipboard. He finally pushed his question aside for later then moved on to the next name and finally after a few minutes, the last name was called out.

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

Several girls began giggling and glanced over to the boy in question who masked a groan under his breath and simply answered their sensei.

"Present."

"Good, now that we've taken attendance, let's move on to our first lesson…"

*******************************************************

_Five hours later…_

Naruto was nearing his limits of his attention span just a little bit before lunch time as he listened to the lesson. He did his best to treat Iruka with the same respect that he gave to his teacher in the clan, Togu, but he just couldn't keep himself focused on the man's words. Shiika had already hit her limit two hours earlier and had fallen asleep leaning up against Shino. A gentle shake from the Aburame had saved both of them from Iruka's eagle eye though not even an hour later, Shino had to wake her up once again. _Damn it, Togu-sensei was nowhere near as boring as this guy! On the bright side, I have Hime-chan here and Shiika-nee-chan. _Naruto took a chance to look over at his sister and found her taking her third nap for the day against Shino with a content smile on her face. _Looks like she's comfortable and Shino-kun doesn't seem to mind either._ The bug user turned to Naruto for a moment before turning back to Shiika in time for her to wrap an arm around his and sighed.

"Shino-kun…"

A couple of the boys behind them snickered yet a quick glare from Naruto along with Sasuke silenced them as some of the girls shivered at Shino. Three girls looked at the scene and smiled, two of which sat in the same row, and the third sat two rows behind them.

"T-they look happy t-together," Naruto turned to Hinata who was one of the three smiling girls. He nodded and smiled at Hinata causing her to blush as the mental picture of the two of them in a similar position flashed through her mind.

Kyuubi snorted in his sleep, breaking Naruto from his curiosity about Hinata's blush and inwardly he glared at his tenant. He had to admit that the mental feedback kept him awake despite how intimidating it sounded. If it had not been for the several times Kyuubi had snored while Naruto was awake, he would have jumped out and screamed like a hyperactive idiot. While his thoughts began to drift back to Hinata, he glanced at the clock and whispered a silent thank you to the heavens as the minute hand finally reached the bottom.

The lunch bell instantly rang and several students jumped up at the sound as Iruka stopped his lecture on basic shinobi equipment. He looked at the same row that Naruto sat in and frowned at the sleeping form of Shikamaru.

"Alright class, you have one hour for lunch so use it wisely,"

The words had barely left his lips when the entire class got up and filed out as quickly as possible. Naruto's row including the Ino Shika Cho were one of the exceptions as Ino angrily shook Shikamaru awake. Both Shohou siblings snickered as Shikamaru muttered under his breath, earning him a prompt smack to the back of his head.

"I'll show you troublesome if you don't move it!"

Shiika giggled at the two and then nudged Naruto gently. "Do you think Kousei-ani-chan is having lunch too?"

"Hm, let me ask someone nee-chan, hey Iruka-sensei," The scarred chunin looked up at Naruto as the rest of the group stood up and waited for the two new members. "Which classes have this lunch time too?"

"The second and third class,"

"Thanks," Naruto turned to his sister and smiled at her. "Alright, let's go find our ani-kun!"

"Hai, come on Hinata-chan!"

The shy girl nodded and Naruto happily took a hold of her hand while Shiika waved to Shino and Sasuke before turning to the doorway. Sasuke looked on with confusion as they seemed to gather chakra to their feet for a moment and Hinata's Byakugan flared to life as the two siblings spoke at once.

"Bakushin,"

Kiba was angrily walking down the hallway, grumbling about blond runts and their sisters when he was almost run over by a black and beige blur. He blinked a few times before realizing who was the black blur and who was the beige blur while Akamaru jumped off his head.

"I'll get that stupid blond rat back for that punch!"

The small puppy put his paws over his eyes to Kiba's confusion until a black blur bulldozed right over him following after the first blur. While the blur was not hurt by the temporary obstacle, Kiba was in a daze and completely flattened on the floor like a fresh million yen bill. Sasuke soon walked past him followed by Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru with Shino bringing up the rear.

He paused for a moment to look at Kiba who was beginning to grumble about annoying violet haired brats. Shino looked around a few times before bending down and lightly rapped Kiba across the head.

"Do not call Shiika-kun a brat."

With that, he stood back up and tossed a small bone to Akamaru then slowly went on his way, leaving a stunned and pride-bruised Kiba on the floor with a large knot on his head…

**********************************************

Shohou Kousei sighed for the fifth time that day. Despite his success at getting the more mature members of his fan club to quit after two years, he still had a decent number left to deal with. He was glad however to meet one that was neither a part of his fan club or one who hated Naruto. The girl he had found was the daughter of a blacksmith who seemed to have inherited an affinity for weaponry. When she had asked about his specialty, Kousei started to tell her which clan he was from only to stop in mid-sentence and turn away after excusing himself. He looked around for a quick bit before smiling and turning back to his new friend.

"Looks like my little brother and sister are headed this way," He calmly picked up his lunch and moved it to his other side while the girl looked around.

"You mean those two blurs are your siblings?" Said blurs vanished from sight as some of the students searched around them in confusion. The girl blinked in surprise and almost jumped when Naruto, Shiika, and a slightly blushing Hinata appeared in front of them with both Naruto and Shiika panting heavily.

"A-are you okay N-Naruto-kun?" He took a few deep breaths before flashing Hinata a big smile.

"Just a little winded from using a big burst like that," The blond plopped down beside his brother while Shiika flopped down on her stomach with an exhausted sigh. Hinata giggled at the two before taking a seat between the siblings with her lunch in hand. She looked over at the surprised girl beside Kousei and smiled at her. "Ne ne, you didn't say you had a new friend ani…"

The older Shohou gestured to the girl sitting beside him and then to his siblings and Hinata. "Naruto-kun, Shiika-kun, Hinata-kun, this is Tenten, she's in the same class as Neji-kun. Tenten-kun, this is my brother, Naruto, our sister Shiika, and Neji-kun's cousin Hinata."

"K-kon'nichi wa Tenten-san,"

"What's up?"

"Are you training to be a kunoichi too?"

Tenten smiled at the trio, mainly Shiika who was looking at the Chinese themed outfit she wore with awe and wonder. "Yep, I'm hoping to be as good as my idol Tsunade-sama one day,"

"Sugoi, I want to be as good as my kaa-san too!"

"Just who is your kaa-san anyway?"

The group looked up to see a panting Ino and Choji with Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke in tow. Shino had made a beeline straight to Shiika without losing track of her while the others had followed him. Other than Sasuke, Shino was the only one not out of breath though he did seem to be panting behind his jacket collar. Shiika immediately jumped up with a burst of energy and latched herself onto Shino's back with a big smile.

Ino struggled to catch her breath while looking at Shiika and Naruto and she shook her head. _Where the hell do they get all that energy? I'm worn out just from chasing after them. _After a few minutes, she was able to stand up and got a better look at Kousei who was eating his own lunch quietly. The others also looked over Kousei a few times and Shikamaru actually looked interest for once.

It was obvious that clothes the Shohou siblings all wore were uniform to one another, with a minor exception in the style of gloves and accessories. Shiika wore shorts while her brothers both wore pants with Kousei wearing dark green pants instead of black ones. He also wore a dark green shirt with a white crosshair symbol on the front underneath a pure black vest. Like Naruto, his gloves had no palms or backs to them and were nothing more than simple frames that were tied off to his wrists. Also like his brother, he had a small bag at his waist of a dark green color, and lastly, wore a simple back headband with the face of a hound howling at a moon on the front. Other than that, the three wore similiar clothing that seemed to be the standard for all Shohou children.

Naruto smiled at his brother and Kousei nodded before turning to Ino who jumped a bit when she saw his ash gray eyes gazing at her. "Shohou Reihitsu,"

"Huh?"

"Shohou Reihitsu, that's the name of our kaa-san,"

Tenten gasped as her eyes widened as did Ino's while Sasuke just looked between the two girls in confusion. Shikamaru grumbled under his breath while Naruto nodded his head at Ino who was doing a good impression of a fish.

"Y-y-you're kaa-san is the Hai-Fuschichou?"

"Correct," Kousei replied and looked over to Sasuke who recognized the nickname and shivered.

"I think my tou-san told me about her…" Chouji said and was quickly informed by Tenten.

"She's a jonin taijutsu specialist and one of the strongest kunoichi alive. Reihitsu-sama is also one of the best combat kunoichi ever to live," Sasuke stared at Tenten with a bit of respect in his eyes as she continued. "Tsunade-sama and Reihitsu-sama are the two Konoha kunoichi that I hope to be as strong."

Shikamaru gulped and looked over to Naruto and Hinata who were busy eating their lunch. "You have my condolences Naruto-kun, and I thought my kaa-san was bad…"

"Well she did teach me a lot about using taijutsu properly," he said as he slurped up his ramen slowly and smacked his lips at the taste.

Sasuke stared at the Shohou trio as they ate and talked with the rest of the group. Naruto told Shikamaru and Choji about his two favorite cousins, Shiika happily ate her lunch beside Shino, and Kousei answered Ino's questions about his mother. Every once in a while, he noticed Hinata glancing at Naruto with a blush on her cheeks and smiling but whenever Naruto turned to her, she would hide her face from him. The rest of the group also noticed the Hyuuga Heiress strange behavior, though both Kousei and Tenten had a better idea about Hinata's behavior.

The eldest of the Shohou trio was different than his two siblings in both appearance as well as personality. He was similar to Shino in the aspect that both were calm, yet while Shino spoke little, Kousei had no problems with talking or showing facial expressions at all. Shiika on the other hand, was a small sun with her big smile and cheerful expressions. She appeared to hold a different view of everything like a real child, yet her attire and the way she held herself were signs of hard training to be a kunoichi. Kousei had the same aura of seriousness to him, though his was hidden underneath his calm exterior, similar to his younger brother Naruto.

Sasuke looked to Naruto and paused for a moment to get a better look at the blond Shohou boy. There was something about him that held the aura of seriousness that his siblings had, but unlike Kousei, the aura was more relaxed as like a giant yet still lake. He was bursting with more energy than Shiika though he had more control of his unlike his sister. In comparison to each other, they were each unique with Kousei being calm and relaxed, Shiika as energetic and free as the sky, and Naruto was charged with energy and easygoing for the most part.

As the minutes passed by, the group was beginning to enjoy the pleasant company with each other. Even Sasuke seemed to be in happier spirits then when he had first come into class after a brief encounter with fangirls. Said fangirls had come over to the group in an attempt to persuade Sasuke to join them for lunch, yet a silent nudge from Naruto to Kousei saved Sasuke from an awkward lunch. The older Shohou had instead offered the girls to sit with the group, gesturing towards the empty space around him as possible seats. Despite his initial fears and with reassurance from Naruto to trust Kousei, Sasuke found his fangirls leaving him alone to his great surprise. He looked to Kousei as he resumed eating his lunch while Naruto pulled out a small notepad along with a pen and made a tally mark on a half-filled page.

"You actually got rid of them so easily…." The words had barely left his lips when Naruto gave Sasuke a pointed look and shook his head. He quickly gave Sasuke as warning as Kousei looked over at them with a frown on his face.

"Fan girls come in several types Sasuke, my brother knows how to turn a fangirl into a proper kunoichi since…" Naruto blinked and scratched his head. "Wasn't it your second semester here or was it the third?"

"Second semester, the majority of them are no longer fangirls, but I'm still trying to convince two of them to stop after they almost got attacked by our mother during a spar,"

Sasuke stared at the older boy for a moment before frowning and shaking his head. "I wouldn't have done it and it wastes time that can be used for training…"

"Ne ne, we aren't shinobi yet, we're still kids and besides, some of them could be our teammates one day," Naruto slurped up the last of his ramen and began munching on a rice ball offered to him from Hinata.

"K-kousei had a fanclub, b-but its small now, r-right?" She asked and he nodded to her.

"So Sasuke-kun, I heard-," Kousei stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed Naruto glaring across the courtyard.

Shiika stopped talking and began growling like a cat as all three Shohou seemed to change in demeanor. Kousei's eyes narrowed as he honed in on the disturbance while Naruto began leaking killing intent with little control. The killing intent only increased when the located the source of the commotion and Naruto let out a low growl from his throat.

The rest of the group was stunned by the killing intent that was coming from the trio with only Hinata and Shino showing a slight twitch of the eye as a reaction. Naruto was the biggest source of killing intent out of the three and dwarfed the wild aura coming from Shiika tenfold. If the others had Hinata's eyes or Shino's beetles, they would have seen small flecks of red chakra flowing through his veins as his anger grew. None of them did however, and Kousei silently stood up with his fists clenched as he spoke to the group.

"I'll handle this," He stated and didn't even move his hands as his chakra flared to life. "Bakushin,"

Kousei quickly took off at a much higher speed than Naruto and Shiika, appearing as nothing more than a dark flash to even the older students. The two remaining siblings quickly repeated the word as Hinata took a hold of Naruto's arm and he turned to the others.

"Go get the teacher fast, we'll track down my ani," With that, the blond took off in a black blur followed by a smaller blur. Shino quickly ran off towards the nearest teacher to the other's surprise while Sasuke looked at the spot where the three Shohou had been at with wide eyes…

*******************************************************

Sakura had woken up early and hoped that her first day of the academy would be okay. Though the Haruno were not a shinobi clan, a few of them had become shinobi but none of them very famous or legendary. She wanted to be like her father's great-grandmother who was one of the few shinobi from the Haruno clan to reach the title of jonin. Her mother had been dead set against her child training to become a kunoichi, and eventually she had calmed down after several reassuring talks with her husband. It had been a happy day for Sakura when she was told about becoming a student at Konoha's Shinobi Academy, and that night she had dreamt of being a strong kunoichi like her ancestor.

That dream was shattered when several kids noticed her forehead and snickered at her. Sakura tried to ignore them, but by lunchtime, she was already on the verge of tears when another girl pushed her to the ground and grabbed her lunch from her.

"Thanks for the lunch billboard!" She laughed as she began rummaging through the bag and tossed out the carefully prepared food her mother had made her.

By the time the girl had gotten to the dessert, a few of her friends were joining in her in picking on Sakura who was on the ground in tears. Her knees were scrapped a bit and one girl had ripped her sleeve off while in the process of pushing Sakura down. None of the other students seemed to help and simply kept to themselves as a few of the older students looked at them to see if one would step in.

Sakura didn't care about the other students as she cried on her knees, her body stinging from the harsh landings she had endured. All the while the older girls were picking on her, their leader was moving onto the last of the cupcakes. The poor girl looked up at the bully in horror as she remembered the smile on her mother's face when she gave her the cupcakes. It hurt her greatly to see all her mother's love and work go to waste as the girl smirked at Sakura.

"Too bad for you billboard, guess you won't be eating anything today or the rest of your school year,"

"M-m-my *hic* kaa-san m-m-made *hic* that…"

A wicked smile spread across the girl's face as she eyed the dessert carefully. She looked to Sakura as her friends smiled and looked down at Sakura with glee.

"Tell her the cupcakes tasted like shit."

Sakura gasped as the cupcake was dropped to the ground. Five things happened in the time it took for the cupcake to fall. One, her heart prepared to break; two, a black flash came into view; three, the girls tensed up in anticipation of Sakura's pain; fourth, a large gust of wind blew through; and fifth, the cupcake vanished from sight. The disappearance of the treat was quickly noticed when Sakura stopped crying, alerting the girls to the source and found no sign of splattered cupcake on the ground at all.

"I thought you dropped it,"

"She did drop it,"

"Then where is it?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

The leader fixed her gaze on Sakura and a dark smile spread across her face. If she couldn't tear the pink haired girl down emotionally, she'd have to do it physically. She nodded to one of her friends and the girl pulled back her fist as Sakura braced herself for the first of many beatings. Only, the blow never came. Instead, there was a rush of wind and the sound of shoes on gravel followed by a single voice and a single word.

"Guillotine,"

Sakura watched as the girl was caught by a bandaged arm colliding with her neck, connected to one Shohou Kousei. The girl that tried to attack had only a moment to wince before she was knocked to the ground by attack and Kousei slowly made his way over to Sakura. He looked down at her with a small smile on his face unlike that of the bullies and extended his other hand to her. She slowly gazed at his hand, freezing up at the sight of the object in his hand in shock, and then smiling with joy and gratitude.

"My *hic* cupcake, thank you," Kousei nodded as one of the girls attacked him in rage. Her kick was caught by Kousei who simply turn to the girl with a frown on his face. "...I-I…"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," He smiled at Sakura while throwing the girl off balance causing her to land flat on her face. Kousei turned his attention back on the leader and glared at the girl. "You picked on your last kid Mikai,"

"Kousei-teme…"

Two of the girls charged him as Sakura watched in horror as they struck hit him. Yet the blows didn't seem to register with Kousei as he moved ahead of both blows in a clockwise direction. Sakura stared at him as the attacks missed him and left the two girls open for a surprise counter-attack from their target as he swung his arms out in the same direction of his spin. "Windmill," His fists connected with the two girls and they soon flew onto the ground unconscious while Kousei turned to the next one with an angry glare.

"Kousei-senpai I-,"

"-Don't. I thought you were better than this," The girl looked down in shame and moved away from Kousei as he turned his gaze to the leader who he called Mikai.

"Nice try, but I'm not scared of you Kousei-teme," She smirked but the attempt to anger him failed.

Naruto and Hinata arrived first with Shiika in tow as the leader charged Kousei, throwing a quick straight punch to his face. To the amazement of the growing audience, he caught the punch without blinking while Hinata gasped and Naruto turned to her as she pointed past Kousei. A male student roughly Kousei's size and age was sneaking up from his side with a rock in his hand. The blond narrowed his eyes while running over to his brother and with a burst of speed, jumped over his brother, twisting himself over the older boy and down onto the new attacker with a low whisper. "Coward,"

His kick connected full force with extra momentum from his spin, slamming the would-be attacker face first into the ground. A few of the students moved forward but all of them were frozen by the sheer force of Naruto's killing intent, and none dared to test him. Mikai shook like a leaf while Kousei turned away from her and walked over to Sakura. Naruto continued to watch the crowd for any other bully that wanted to fight his brother as Shino, Choji, Ino, and Sasuke arrived with Iruka in tow behind them. They were stunned by Naruto and Kousei's speed as well as the brief flash of taijutsu they both used. Iruka snapped out of his trance as his teaching instincts took over and he rushed over to Sakura and Kousei.

"Everyone back to their own business, third year students will leave as well," He ordered and turned to the two children while the crowd slowly began to disperse. "What happened here Sakura-kun?"

"I-I *sniff* w-was going t-to eat *hic* my l-lunch a-and…" She looked away and Kousei patted her on the shoulder.

"Mikai came over with a few of the other third year girls and began pushing Sakura around, stealing her lunch in the process and eating it right in front of her," he explained.

A girl, the same one he had talked to before, stepped forward and nodded. "He's telling the truth Iruka-sensei, we all pushed Sakura-kun around and we stole her lunch from her…Kousei-senpai stepped in and defended her…"

Iruka looked from the older Shohou boy and then to the girl while Naruto turned to him and nodded in agreement as well. He glanced at the unconscious girls and the downed boy, checking them for any signs of immediate movement. Hinata ran over to him along with Shiika while Iruka looked from the two Shohou boys with a frown on his face. _The teacher assigned to this part of courtyard was in the lunchroom with the rest of us. Even though Kousei-kun and Naruto-kun stepped in, they shouldn't have to do a teacher's job. _The chunin stood up and addressed the small group of students around him.

"Kousei-kun, could you take Sakura-kun to the nurse's office?"

"Yes sensei," He extended a hand out to Sakura who sniffled and looked at his hand. "Come on Sakura-kun, you can have some of my lunch,"

She nodded slowly and started to get up only to drop her cupcake in the process. To her relief, Kousei once again caught the dessert and handed it back to her. "A-arigatou Kousei-senpai,"

Iruka watched the pair leave with Kousei steadying Sakura and turned to the girl before him. He sighed as she stood with her head bent down in shame, though her head lifted up a bit when Kousei called out to her.

"I'll be waiting with Sakura-kun in the nurse's office for you," The girl nodded and turned to the teacher as Sakura and Kousei walked into the academy.

"I expect to see you in detention with Mikai-kun and the others this afternoon for what've you done, am I clear Suisen-kun?" Iruka asked the girl.

"Yes sir Iruka-sensei,"

He nodded and turned to the still unconscious girls along with Mikai and groaning boy. Naruto glared at the leader for a bit until Hinata tugged him on his sleeve to get him to focus on her instead of the bullies.

"L-lets go finish our l-lunch Naruto-kun…"

"Sure Hinata-chan…"

The rest of the group followed them, though Sasuke lingered for a bit to glance at the back of Naruto's head. He only caught a few glimpses of the brief fight, but he did manage to see Kousei knock out the two girls as well as Naruto's acrobatic move. The Uchiha boy was awestruck by the skill the two boys had shown, and looked to Shiika who was riding on Shino's back happily. She had not been in the fight yet something told him that she was just as strong as her brothers, though Naruto was the one who caught his eye the most. He wondered who exactly the blond jinchuuriki was, and quickly ran after the group to catch up with them and find out more about the mysterious family…

**********************************************

Time passed by rather quickly for the small group of friends that had dubbed themselves simply as the Rookies. Kiba had wanted the group to be the Rookie Twelve when he entered the group along with Tenten as well as considering his partner Akamaru as a member, but Kousei had squashed that idea rather quickly. Naruto added that the name would always change if they kept adding new members, and after a quick fight ending with Kiba pinned to the ground by Kousei, they all agreed to be called the Rookies. Even Kiba had to admit that he liked the name better than the Rookie Twelve, though only after he had finally broken down and told the group during a training session. The Inuzaka boy had apologized to Naruto for his attack and also apologized to Hinata for acting rash. He couldn't explain why but he felt on edge around Naruto for some reason, one which the three Shohou knew was a result of Kyuubi being inside of Naruto. While Naruto wanted to tell his friends about Kyuubi, Han advised him against it for the first year until he knew for sure that they were not tainted by any of the rumors about him.

In the meantime, Naruto kept up his training and education inside the Shohou clan alongside his brother and sister. He progressed well underneath the tutelage of Togu as well as Chizu and Chizu-cho and enjoyed his time training under his mother and Anko in taijutsu. Chakra training was the hardest for Naruto due to his large chakra reserves, though he was actually surprised to learn that his siblings had similar problems due to their potent chakra having the tendency to super charge ninjutsu if they weren't careful. Reihitsu did not have the problem as she was not a Shohou and instead they were trained by Han's younger sister who Naruto had accidentally bumped into at his first party. She was a kind woman even during their training, helping the three Shohou to master the basics of leaf levitation. Many of the other Rookies began to take part in the Shohou trio's training, starting with Hinata who was already training with them from before the academy. The heiress had first joined them after meeting Naruto again as Shohou Uzumaki Naruto, and her parents encouraged her to train with him though the encouragement was not needed. She was glad to join as she could both spend time with her friends especially Naruto, but also because she liked listening to Togu's lessons as much as Naruto did. Hiashi was overjoyed for once to see his daughter playing with children her own age. The fact that her additional training with the Shohou was helping her confidence level as well as Hikaru being able to talk with her friend was just a bonus. Hikaru herself enjoyed seeing Hinata and Naruto play with Hanabi as well as Eishi who became fast friends with the younger toddler. Despite her growing confidence, Hinata still blushed and stuttered around Naruto which tickled Shiika to no end. Even though Naruto was observant and fairly intelligent, he had trouble with understanding relationships outside his family. Though he still called Hinata by her nickname, he would often wonder why she blushed around him.

Other than Hinata, Tenten also would join in on the training and meetings of the Rookies to practice her skill in weapons. Anko became her unofficial tutor in using knives and hidden weapons though whenever she and Kousei sparred, she would use blunt weapons instead. Ino would sometimes stop by with Choji and Shikamaru to join in, lasting a bit longer with each session as her stamina grew. Choji enjoyed training with Shiika who was a challenge for even her brothers as a result of her small size and insane speed. Of the group, she and Naruto were the fastest, though Naruto could outrun her due to his own insane stamina. Shikamaru on the other hand preferred to play Shoji with Kousei or Shino as both were fairly strong strategists. During breaks in training, the rest of the Rookies would watch the shoji matches until they were all ready to train again. The Aburame heir had joined the training sessions before after he had met Shiika, and the two friends would often spend their breaks with Shiika on Shino's back while playing with a few of his kikaichuu. None of the group questioned the odd pair since the first time Kiba had tried to tease Shino about Shiika, he wound up unconscious on the ground and from then on everyone just left the two alone.

Sasuke joined the group when he could, seeing Naruto as a brother figure in a sense as both trained hard to earn their skills. He would often stay the night along with Shino and Hinata even though the other clan houses were not that far away. One day, the four children asked their mothers why the sleepovers were always acceptable, and Reihitsu told them that she was in the same cell as Mikoto and Hikaru. The trio had been inseparable friends even when they became jonin and got married. As for Shino, Reihitsu had skipped his answer with an evil smile on her face that made all the children shiver at the sight. Despite having been raised by their mother, Naruto and Shiika, even Kousei and Anko, feared Reihitsu's smile as she seemed to look like a demon when she did.

Towards the end of their first year of the ninja academy, they added two more members to bring the group's total to fifteen members including Akamaru. The first was Sakura who had become Ino's friend as well as Kousei much to everyone's surprise including Naruto. He knew his brother's fanclub had been angered at Ino and Tenten training with him, though Naruto smiled at the fact that Kousei opened up a little more to Sakura than the other girls. While she was as shy as Hinata at times, Ino and Kousei managed to bring her out of her shell and Naruto found himself adopting her as a sister of sorts. It had been awkward with her parents uneasy about Naruto being the jail for Kyuubi, but once they saw Sakura smiling with the others, they apologized to Naruto for doubting him and Sakura became a regular with Hinata. During breaks, she would often blush when Kousei spoke to her, and would turn completely red when Reihitsu teased her and Hinata about their crushes.

The second member was an ex-Kousei fan girl called Suisen, the same one who had been part of Mikai's gang. She had apologized to Sakura several times during the rest of lunch as well as Kousei for her actions. Naruto explained to the rest of the group that Suisan was one of the few ex-fan girls he had befriended, and enjoyed talking with at times. After apologizing to Kousei and Sakura, Suisan removed herself the school socially and worked to make up for her actions. Kousei told the group about Suisen's family life being raised by her single father who was doing his best to raise the family of four children on his own. The Rookies all accepted Suisen into the group after meeting her as well as a probation period from Shiika and Naruto, and she soon became a sister figure to Sakura who had noticed Suisen's reluctance in the bullying by the way she acted. While she was not a weapons expert like Tenten, Suisen did come from a shinobi can that had a natural affinity for nature. She began teaching the other girls what she knew about plants and herbs, and complimented Hinata on her healing salve.

In the second year, Naruto grew in skill with his taijutsu and chakra control even more than his first year, and began learning how to perform ninjutsu correctly and to master the basics before he could go on. The rest of the Rookies had their families teach them the basic clan techniques, though Kousei helped Sakura in her ninjutsu training as her clan was civilian. Naruto and Kousei grew the most, tied with Sasuke when it came to ninjutsu though Naruto had more chakra than the rest of the group combined. Naruto progressed rather quickly to the point where Reihitsu had become his sparring partner with Kousei who was also gaining mastery of his own taijutsu. While Kousei had the advantage in age and size, as well as speed, Naruto had his insane stanima that was becoming infamous as his training with Reihitsu was helping him to refine his stanima and strengthen his endurance level. The rest of the group was enjoying their own progress and growth as they reached the second semester of their second year with Sasuke finally managing to spend more time with his friends, unaware of how much they would be needed soon as Shiika's birthday came…

* * *

The second chapter and hopefully still Naruto-centric, hurrah! I am hoping to keep the OCs to a minimum, and more into the Ketsueki Fude and the Hyoushou as the story progresses, especially after the third chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter, the major event to come is almost here...the Uchiha Massacre! And things will turn our differently than expected....

**translations:  
**

**itoko - cousin  
Eishi - epic or historical poem****  
Reihitsu - soul head  
Togu - to sharpen  
Han - seal  
Kousei - calibration  
Toan - paper  
Chizu-cho - billion map  
Chizu - Map  
Shiika - japanese poetry  
****Suisen - daffodil  
kekkai genkai - blood line limit**

Read and review please, and I will do the same as time permits, thank you!


	3. Roar of the onetailed Naruto!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto unfortunately. I do own my OCs and my own original bloodlines, and idea, if you would like to use an idea or character, please ask my permission before you use them. Other than that, enough of this disclaimer…

A round of thank you goes out to Dragon Man 180, Rose Tiger, Rena the pirate jedi wizard, and Lord Ezra'eil for the reviews. Also, I would like to thank Rose Tiger and Lord Ezra'eil again for pointing out my mistake with using –kun instead of –chan for girls. Sorry for the confusion!

There is a slight change from the original, a little idea that I got from Dragon Man 180's review about what would happen if someone messed with Shiika and how her brothers react. Hope you like what happens to the poor soul who hurts her…

"Speech"

"_**Demon speech"**_

_Thought_

_**Demon thought**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Blessing from a Curse**_

Chapter 3: Roar of the One-tailed Naruto!

**Shohou Clan Compound, Exercise and Training Room...**

Naruto grunted as he lowered himself to the ground with one hand and then pushed himself back up, quietly keeping track of his count as he did each handstand push-up. Across from him was Reihitsu who was going through the same exercise with a fine layer of sweat on her body. The Shohou Matriarch had one arm held behind her back like her son and her well toned muscles were proudly bared below her form fitting tank top. Her son had on a sleeveless shirt and shorts on with his trademark orange spiral on the back and no bandages on, allowing him to proudly show off the physical results of his hard work and training. Even though he was short for his age, Naruto was healthy and in shape enough to make up for his slight disadvantage in height in his eyes.

"Keep a steady pace and a steady count kid," Reihitsu instructed as she lifted herself up with a solid and steady push of her arm. "Make every muscle in your body burn until they scream for more!"

"Yes mom….twenty five!" counted Naruto as he finished his last rep. He then launched himself into the air with a quick push, went into a quick spin in midair, and landed on his feet with a foxy smile.

"That's my little fox boy I know and love, come here and let's have a good spar today," Reihitsu smiled as Naruto charged her with a swaying zigzag and she suddenly pushed off into the air and dove towards her son.

Mother and son clashed with flesh hitting flesh as Naruto turned a spin kick into a feint and went for a straight kick only for Reihitsu to catch his foot with a wild grin. She threw him into a spin yet Naruto moved with the spin to deliver a real spin kick which Reihitsu countered with her own. The two smiled wildly throughout the entire fight as they exchanged blows and by the time they were done, Reihitsu held Naruto in a strong bear hug but the blond simply laughed happily in the embrace as he surrendered. He took a moment to catch his break and Reihitsu loosened her grip to hold him in a normal hug before they both plopped down onto the floor.

"You're still holding back mom," Naruto playfully whined, earning him a light punch to his shoulder.

"Just by eighty five this time, besides, you're starting to shift between air and land attacks smoother than last time," she replied and ruffled Naruto's hair with a laugh. A couple of Shohou greeted them as they entered and went to two of the weight benches and picked up a couple of weights. "Tomorrow I want you to double your count and take advantage of that fuzzy flirt in you, got that son?"

Naruto nodded and then watched as his mother resumed her one arm handstand exercises in awe at the number she was reaching. By the time his shirt was dry and he had gone through his kata for his taijutsu, she had already reached three hundred and showed no sign of exhaustion yet.

"Man, you could probably break stones like Gai can huh mom?" Naruto asked as he picked up a towel from off the nearby rack and began wiping his face. The woman simply laughed and finished off the last few push-ups then hooked her legs on an overhead bar and begun doing a large number of crunches.

"You and all of Iwa know it, and you understand why I do so many of them, right?" Naruto nodded and held up a finger as if giving a lecture.

"'A kunoichi is lethal; a strong mind is a strong weapon, quick; a single gesture is many moves, and strong; a tuned body is better than brawn," Reihitsu smiled as she pulled herself up again. Naruto returned the smile and watched her go through several more crunches at the same steady pace with a mix of awe and pride. "Hey kaa-san, Uncle Gai said he will try to make it today for Shiika-nee-chan's birthday and he'll do a thousand laps around Konoha on one foot with a boulder on his back if he doesn't make it,"

"Well that's Gai for ya' kid, he likes to stay fit all the time," The Shohou Matriarch laughed for a minute and then resumed her crunches. She looked at Naruto upside down and flashed him a big grin. With a level of skill and ease, the woman twirled herself around twice for fun on the bar before taking a moment to stretch her arms to the floor. "…I know you want to get out of this ol' stinky sweat dump and get Shiika's birthday present before she wakes up so go on already!"

Naruto flashed his mom a big smile before running off out of the weight room into the dojo towards the living quarters. Reihitsu chuckled to herself as she went back to her crunches…

**********************************************

The young blond was already heading out of the compound shortly after a quick shower and started to put on some of his clothes. He had a dark blue and orange version of his usual clothes, something he had worn once before becoming a Shohou. It had been an orange and blue jumpsuit that was unpopular among shinobi despite being sturdy and durable which Reihitsu told him when she found it in his closet. Naruto didn't argue with the logic as he knew his blue and black clothes were ideal shinobi colors, and bright orange was something that he had once worn as a child, only until learning that dark orange was a better color to wear especially at night.

The young Shohou Uzumaki finished strapping on his gloves before he walked out of his room out into the large hallway going through straight through the middle of the living quarters. A few of the other Shohou in the hallway bade Naruto good morning as he walked past them out of the building and he returned the gesture with the same greeting.

On his way towards the gates, he waved to the young woman on guard duty. She smiled as he approached and returned the friendly wave with one of her own. "Good morning Naruto-kun, how did your training with Lady Reihitsu go this morning?"

"I'm doing well and the training went great Yoyate-sensei, she's really like Uncle Gai when he trains except without the weights," He replied with a smile.

Yoyate was one of the other teacher's in the clan besides Togu, though she was not a Shohou by blood like the young mother, but a Shohou by adoption like Naruto was. Naruto liked her as a sensei as much as he did Togu, especially because she liked to bake cookies for her class and always asked Naruto to help him. "Oh yeah, is Shiika-chan up yet Yoyate-sensei?"

"No she is not Naruto-kun," The young woman said with a shake of her head, causing her shoulder length white hair to shimmer in the sunlight. Naruto let out a sigh of relief and walked past the gate while pulling out a pair of dark blue shades from his pocket. Before he could get a foot away from the compound, Yoyate called out to him and he turned his head in her direction. "I will have cookies waiting for you along with the guests when you return,"

Naruto nodded and flashed a big smile to the kind young woman. "Awesome Yoyate-sensei, I'll be back before you know it!"

**********************************************

Naruto swiftly ran through the streets towards the Konoha Market district to pick up the gift he ordered from a weapons shop. The young blond smiled as he thought about the look on his sister's face when she opened his present. _I hope she likes it, I wonder what kaa-san got ane-chan for her present._

As he thought about his latest spar with Reihitsu, he took a moment to look at the dead end street on his right and smiled as an idea popped into his mind. Using a quick burst of speed to get close to one wall, Naruto began running across the surface for a few seconds before he jumped off and over to the other wall. The young blond grinned as he repeated the jump back to the starting wall, jumping from one wall to the other skillfully in tempo. He was beginning to draw closer and closer to the end of the alleyway when the sound of footsteps alerted him to an approaching audience and with a quick jump, Naruto landed on top of the wall he started on as the footsteps stopped. _Let's see… fifteen villagers and one chunin, all of them adults with two villagers wearing tobi. I have to be careful today just for Shiika-ane. _He calmly turned around to face a small mob of fifteen villagers along with a chunin in front and simply smiled at them and waved.

Behind his shades, Naruto's eyes honed in on two men who appeared to be normal villagers, but the way had their muscles tensed up was the same as the chunin in front of him, indicating that they were once shinobi. The two retirees along with the chunin and the villagers would have scared him in the past, but in the present, Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his shades with two fingers. His gesture angered the chunin who promptly stomped forward and pointed accusingly at Naruto. "Don't even think about trying to calling for help demon!"

"What demon are you talking about?" The chunin blinked in surprise and Naruto looked around a few times. Some of the villagers were just as confused as the chunin while the rest just tightened their grips on their makeshift weapons.

"He's lying to us…"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course,"

"Is the demon invisible or something?" Naruto asked as he did a quick flip and began walking along the wall on his hands. A few of the villagers whispered a small bit of praise about the eight year-old's sense of balance while the chunin exploded in anger.

"Don't play dumb with us; you're the demon we're talking about!" His outburst didn't even startle Naruto who continued walking with his hands and looked up at the speaker.

"You mean I'm talking about,"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, you said 'you're the demon we're talking about!', but you were the only one talking," Naruto said and shifted his weight to one hand, lowering himself until he was just a few centimeters away from the top tile. The chunin began fuming as a few more villagers begin whispering to each other at the boy's truthful statement.

"Shut up!" He shouted to the villagers and turned back to Naruto. "Listen hear you little demon punk, you've been given free reign for too long," Several villagers began whispering in agreement while the chunin continued.

"That's right!"

"Yeah, enough's enough!"

"It's time someone put you in your place once and for all!" The entire mob was beginning to agree louder and louder, and a few even shouted out in agreement. Yet Naruto simply blinked and without even a word, pushed off high into the air and twisted into a few quick spins, landed on his feet, and faced the mob with his arms held out and bowed.

Half of the villagers began clapping, including the two retired shinobi while the rest stopped shouting and followed suit of the others. Now the chunin was beyond fuming and was outright furious as his threats were once again ignored.

"Stop playing and come down here demon brat!" Naruto calmly walked forward to the corner of the wall, stopped when he reached the end, and crouched down so he was closer to the mob's height. "I said get down here demon boy!"

"Why do you keep changing your mind? First you say demon, then you say demon punk, then demon brat, and now demon boy, which one is it?" He said and the villagers all blinked a few times as a few figures begin appearing out of the shadows. One of them held out their hand in a quick signal, causing the rest to stop moving as Naruto continued. "Besides, I know some of you've heard about my kaa-san's temper and no one wants her knocking at their door any time soon, especially with today being a birthday for my nee-chan,"

Several of the men and a few of the women in the mob gulped as they all remembered the times when the Shohou Matriarch was angered and shivered. Meanwhile, Naruto took a moment to quickly jump over to the other wall corner and landed gracefully with a smile. "She's a good mom and just wants to keep me safe, and none of us want our lives to get hectic anytime soon, right?"

"He's got a point there…"

"I'm already late for work as it is…"

"My sister can't look after the baby any longer,"

"Tell you what, I'll even throw in a free triple back flip with my eyes closed for your troubles," Naruto smiled as he started to close his eyes and begun to flip backwards into the air.

By the end of his move, almost the entire mob was clapping at the young jinchuuriki's performance with a few even dropping their weapons to clap, save the chunin leader himself. Enraged by the loss of his support and mob, he let out a primal roar and suddenly charged Naruto with the intent to kill him. He quickly scaled the wall before the mob could react and started to run across but missed his footing after a few steps, and began to fall to the ground. The mob turned audience gasped in horror as a few tried to run over to the wall to catch him. With a quick burst of speed, Naruto shot across and caught the man by his wrist before he hit the ground and let out a sigh of relief.

"Careful sir, you almost took a nasty fall there," warned Naruto as he carefully

"I'll kill you demon!" The man howled in rage and threw a couple of kunai at Naruto who jumped over them with a quick spin and landed in a crouch. He had no sooner whipped out another pair of kunai when he found himself pinned to the wall by the two retired shinobi. "What are you doing idiots-I'm not the demon here!"

"No, but you are hereby under arrest for attempted assault," Everyone in the mob jumped back in shock at ANBU officer who appeared above the chunin, wearing a Bear mask over their face and the other ANBU appearing out of the shadows.

"And you threatened to shed the blood of a Shohou with intent to kill, one who is second in line as heir I might add," added another ANBU with a Cat mask as a fifth ANBU appeared wearing a large white trench coat.

"You two take the chunin to the Hokage and you inform Han-san of what has occurred. This man has violated Shohou clan and Reihitsu-sama will want a word with him herself," Naruto looked at some of the villagers who gulped and begun to shake in fear. Three of the ANBU nodded and two of them took the chunin away while the third went off towards the Shohou compound. "As for the rest of you-,"

"-They were misled ANBU-san, they had no idea that I'm of the Shohou clan, I promise," Every member of the mob looked at Naruto in shock while the Dog ANBU simply stared at him in thought. After a couple of minutes, the ANBU nodded and the rest of the squad backed away. "I know they have places to be sir, and I have a present to pick up for my nee-chan. Onegai, they can't be held responsible for everything the chunin did,"

The Dog ANBU nodded again and signaled to the rest who disappeared back into the shadows. "Very well, I'd be grateful to him if I were any of you; the Shohou family does not tolerate being provoked through bloodshed,"

With that final statement, the mob quickly dispersed and the two retired shinobi apologized to Naruto before they too left. The only people that were left in the street were Naruto and the Dog ANBU who pulled back the hood to reveal spiky white hair. "You're getting to be quite the little negotiator Naruto-kun,"

"I just told the truth, if they had known then they wouldn't have been surprised that I could do all those flips and would have never come at all," He said and simply smiled to the ANBU. The ANBU smiled behind both of his masks and patted Naruto on the head. "Well I have to go, see ya' later at Shiika's party!"

The ANBU watched as Naruto turned into a dark blue blur that streaked across the rooftops at insane speed. Smiling behind his mask, the ANBU made a quick handseal and disappeared in a black blur…

**********************************************

The rest of the trip to the shop was uneventful as was the trip back, except for when Naruto saw Anko talking to Kakashi. He smiled mischievously as he thought about how to use what he saw to his advantage while activating the Bakushin Hyoushou for the last part of the trip. Yoyate greeted him as he shot past her with a quick apology before going into his room and hiding the present. After a few minutes of changing into his uniform minus his vest, wrapping up the present, and hiding it in his arms, Naruto came back out of his room and headed straight across the compound to the ceremonial room.

Inside of the room, Hikaru and Reihitsu sat watching the birthday girl as she happily chatted away with Hinata between bounces. Hinata's younger sister Hanabi sat across from Eishi with the two toddlers passing a small ball between them. Suddenly Eishi perked up along with Hinata as the doors opened and a black and red blur shot across the room towards a large table with presents stacked up on it and food. Reihitsu smirked as the blur turned into Naruto who placed the present on the table not a moment before Eishi jumped onto his back.

"Daifu-san, daifu-san!" shouted the small five year old as she smiled at Naruto. He grinned and ruffled his goddaughter's hair causing her to laugh at the gesture. "Hinata-san is weally nice, I like hew!"

"I like her too Eishi-chan," Naruto looked over at his friend and gave her a happy smile. The smile was one of his true smiles that held a bit of his foxy smile to it but was gentle and honest. "Arigatou Hinata-chan,"

"Y-y-you're welcome N-n-naruto-kun," She blushed darkly yet remained conscious as Naruto slowly looked around the room for the other guests and spotted the first of the arrivals.

Mikoto sat with the other mothers sipping her tea while Sasuke sat beside her in a semi-formal kimono bearing the Uchiha crest while Kousei sat beside Sakura, the latter in a kimono of pink with small white cherry blossoms adorning it. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle when Kousei refilled her tea cup himself and Sakura blushed at the gesture. He moved on to the other guests and saw Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru sitting with Shiika in a circle all in semi-formal outfits. For Shikamaru, semi-formal meaning he actually had a nice looking shirt on was actually looked interested in the conversation.

Naruto turned his gaze back onto Hinata and her sister in time to see Eishi and Hanabi tugging on her arms in different directions. The two seemed to be arguing over who Hinata should play with first, and seeing his friend in need of help, Naruto quickly came to her rescue.

After a bit of persuasion, the two toddlers stopped their tug of war and all four of the joined the other children. Later Yoyate came in with a large tray of cookies she had prepared, and soon the party was in full swing as the rest of the guests began to arrive. Gai came in with Tenten and a young Hyuuga who Naruto recognized as Hinata's cousin Neji and a young Gai lookalike named Lee. Immediately Gai began shouting about Shiika's flames of youth growing and was quickly silenced by Reihitsu who slammed him into the wall with a powerful clothesline blow to his neck. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Neji eyed each other as Uchiha and Hyuuga until Naruto warned them about Kousei who gave both shorter boys a look before resuming his conversation with Sakura.

More guests continued to arrive as the party continued. Anko and Kakashi were the next two to arrive, much to Naruto's joy as he immediately went about teasing his sister only once which was enough to get Gai involved. The young blond was laughing to the point of tears with his younger sister as Gai cried about Kakashi's "Flames of Passion and Youth". Everyone could not help but join in on the laughter when Reihitsu got involved and begin teasing Anko about being lucky enough to see what was under Kakashi's mask every day. Hanabi and Eishi were confused about the whole thing, and simply guessed it was an adult thing and left it at that. Shiika on the other hand was sad when she didn't see Shino, though it did not last long as Naruto opened the door for the last set of guests who were none other than Shino and his mother. In the Aburame heir's arms was a large present which he carefully set onto the table along with a smaller second box before walking over to Shiika and bowed to her.

He apologized for being late, and Shiika replied with a hug which Naruto translated to Ino and Sakura as Shiika's form of forgiveness. With the last guest present, cake was served along with refreshments while Shiika begin opening her presents one by one. From her 'Uncle Gai', she received a beautiful green kimono with a white tiger on back of it, and she hugged him and thanked him for the gift. Naruto explained to Hanabi about the tradition of thanking guests for gifts as Shiika thanked Ino for the book on flowers and moved onto the next one. He also expected that his mom had probably warned Gai with a sparring match if he tried to get any of her children a green jumpsuit.

Halfway through the presents, Naruto took a moment to hand Eishi a cookie as Hinata mirrored the action with Hanabi and they both looked up to see Shiika carefully removing the wrapping paper from Naruto's gift. She lifted up the box lid and her face lit up in joy as she held up a small chain necklace with a cat's eye jewel hanging off the end. The young Shohou princess gave her brother a teary hug and thanked him for the present over and over again. Reihitsu watched her two children with the other parents, smiling happily at the brother and sister moment.

Towards the end of the presents which included a set of well designed fans from Hinata, a book of famous Kunoichi in history from Kakashi, a pair of combat knives from Anko, and a special scroll containing a list of Hyoushou from Kousei, Shiika found herself watching Shino as he lifted his larger present down first. Everyone watched quietly as Shiika took care in opening the gift and let out a loud gasp along with the other girls in the room. The first present held a pair of beautiful green and golden winged butterflies within an aquarium that had been reinforced by jutsu to be as hard as steel. Naruto had his eyes on the second present as Shino presented it to Shiika and she carefully opened it to find a small intricate beetle shaped hairpiece which she quietly and almost immediately put on with Shino's help.

Naruto and Kousei exchanged glances at each other then looked over at their mother and Shino's who seemed to be smiling unusually wide at each other. Before the two brothers could question the adults' motives, Shiika stood up on her tiptoes and placed a quick yet gentle kiss on Shino's cheek. The gesture instantly earned the two a round of aw's from the girls while most of the boys just stared dumbfounded. Kousei smacked his forehead with his hand while Naruto started to make plans to keep a closer eye on his sister and friend. The innocent moment between the two children returned when Shino actually blushed and Shiika mirrored him, and Naruto opted to talk with Shino later and went back to relaxing with his family and friends...

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By sunset the party had already begun to wind down and most of the guests had already gotten settled into the large guest quarters in the compound beside the main quarters. All of the kids were gathered up in one of the large guest rooms while the adults talked in one of the other ones. Sasuke and Mikoto were the only ones who left after Kakashi and Anko, though not before witnessing the young teenager chase Naruto around who had taken the opportunity to tease Kakashi not to give him a nephew or niece early. Reihitsu soon joined in with her son by warning both of the teenagers to be safe and laughed with Naruto as the beet red pair walked out of the compound together with the Uchiha mother and son shortly leaving as well. Light blue highlighting is material that is subject to be removed, Yellow highlighting is material subject to be changed

Shikamaru let out a low sigh and to his slight amusement, Eishi copied him. He lifted his hand up and scratched his head, and Eishi copied him. _Trying to copy me, eh? _The Nara heir smirked and Eishi copied him, again. Hanabi stopped munching on her cookie to watch her friend's antics and giggled as Eishi flawlessly muttered mendokuse after Shikamaru did.

"Hey Naruto-kun, how do you turn off the imitation?"

"Hey Nawuto-kun, how do you tuwn off the imate-emit-ema-," Eishi stumbled over the word a few times to Shikamaru's amusement while Hanabi frowned at him. Finally fed up with it, she settled for another word she knew by heart. "Kuso!"

Shikamaru simply smirked at the toddler until he felt a pair of holes burning into his head. It didn't take him a minute to know who was glaring at him as everyone else could see Naruto fingering one of the knives he had taken out of his vest. Before he could strike though, the door opened and Yoyate walked in carry a large tray of snacks and three plates of cookies.

"I hope everyone has room for some more cookies," she said and immediately all the children were huddling around her. Kousei calmly retrieved one for Sakura and one for himself thanks to his height while Naruto got Hinata two cookies along with one each for Hanabi and Eishi.

After everyone had gotten a cookie and Yoyate set down the tray, Shikamaru challenged Kousei to a game of shoji and Naruto started up a game of Chinese checkers with Hinata as his partner against Choji, Ino, Shino, and Shiika. Sakura opted to simply watch Kousei and Shikamaru while Yoyate happily played with Eishi and Hanabi who were munching on their cookies.

Halfway during the game with Naruto and Hinata overwhelming the other four, Kousei stopped moving his rook as if distracted by something. Naruto felt a cold shiver go down his spine as Eishi suddenly began to cry.

"What's wrong Eishi-chan, are you hurt?" asked Yoyate as Hanabi started to tear up and exploded into sobs. _Something's upsetting Hanabi-chan and Eishi-chan, something evil. Kyuubi-sama I need your senses. _Inside of him, the fox king Kyuubi slowly opened his eyes and gave a low thundering growl. A large wave of red chakra began to surge through the waters up as the pipes began to glow with the fox king's chakra surging through it.

Naruto felt all of his senses sharpen painfully as if they were all on fire while Kousei shot up with his eyes blazing. Hinata let out a gasp as she saw Naruto's eyes turn to slits and his whisker marks grew darker and more defined. Meanwhile the fox king started to tap into Naruto's sense of smell, magnifying the sense until he caught a heavy whiff of blood that made Naruto shiver nervously. _**Someone has spilt blood tonight, a large amount and some of it innocent. **_The fox took another sniff through the connection and growled angrily as his eyes grew dark in rage. _**The kit you call Eishi, I smell her mother's blood, freshly spilt as well… **_No sooner had he told Naruto that the blond was already in motion in a mad dash to the window.

Sakura and Hinata quickly went to work try to calm Hanabi and Eishi down while Kousei ran over to the wall and pounded a section hard, revealing a secret closet full of weapons and armor. He quickly put on a vest he pulled out of the closet while Yoyate threw off her kimono to reveal her jonin vest and the numerous knives strapped to her leg.

"Everyone follow me to the dojo, quickly now!" The kunoichi ordered, scooping up Hanabi and Eishi into her arms.

"That came from the Uchiha district," stated Shino and Naruto froze up as he took a sniff of the air. "We need to get our parents-,"

"-They're already over there including Togu-san…kuso I'm going!"Naruto growled out in a dark tone. Before anyone could move he was already out the window and across the heading towards the gate as Kousei quickly went after him with Hinata and Neji in tow…

**********************************************

Naruto's blood was pumping madly with adrenaline and Kyuubi's chakra as he shot across the rooftops in a black blur. Within a manner of seconds he was already at the Uchiha gates and with the last bit of the chakra burst, ran into the courtyard and came to a dead halt in shock. Kousei managed to finally catch up to his brother yet as soon as he looked at the courtyard he began leaking killing intent in rage and fury…

Right before their eyes was their mother and Hinata's fighting against Uchiha Itachi with fire and katana while Mikoto kneeled over the shaking form of Shohou Togu. Sasuke was beside his mother curled up in a ball as he kept crying and shaking like a leaf. The two boys quickly ran over to their cousin and friend though Naruto stopped short when he caught sight of the full damage done to his cousin.

Where her right arm should have been was a bloody stump in its place with several burns on her side that left the skin charred black from the contact. Her brow was covered in sweat while one of her eyes was partially red from a broken blood vessel before her face contorted pain. Across from their cousin was a pile of ash that remained from what only could have been the missing limb. Naruto began to realize why his goddaughter had begun crying in pain, and his heart began to burn with rage as he clenched his fists tightly.

"It burns, it still burns!" Togu cried out as she clutched her side in a vain attempt to stop the pain. Mikoto worked furiously on keeping Togu stable, only looking up from her patient once to see the two boys staring in shock and anger at the injuries.

Naruto began shaking like Sasuke and unknown to the outside world, Kyuubi's body began to glow within the darkness of his cell and red chakra began to swirl around his entire being. As the rage began to build up in his brother, Kousei turned his attention to Itachi who kicked Hikaru back and avoided an earth shattering punch from Reihitsu.

"You bastard," He growled as his eyes turned to slits.

"I had little choice but to remove her from the battle Kousei-kun," He said and countered Hikaru's slash but she was already in motion and soon out of the range of his blade. "She tried to save my kaa-san from following the rest of the clan into the after-life."

"Why are you doing this musume?" Mikoto asked as Itachi fixed his Mangekyou eyes on his mother. "Why did you kill everyone?"

"The clan does not deserve the Sharingan anymore kaa-san…" He took a moment to look at his mother again and a frown appeared on his face and he took a step back. The gesture did not go unnoticed by Reihitsu and Hikaru as Naruto started to growl. On the inside of his body, Kyuubi's body began to glow as the chakra started to build up around him and the entire sewer began to shake and rumble.

"You're pregnant kaa-san…"

Mikoto froze up at the announcement as Hinata arrived with Neji and immediately gasped in horror at Togu's burned and bloody. "Itachi-teme killed the rest of our clan! Get Sasuke-kun out of here please!'"

Itachi quickly shot forward towards Sasuke with his katana in hand and shuriken markings spinning. His eyes caught movement from his side as Kousei swiftly cut his thumb and quickly drew all over his palm. Neji activated his Byakugan and shot over to Kousei's side just as he lifted his decorated hand up and pointed the blood covered palm at Itachi. "Sandan Juu(Shotgun)!" Two large rings of light flashed in front of Kousei's palm before a pair of chakra blasts shot out of the rings towards Itachi and turned into a hundred small blasts each.

Itachi quickly performed a substitution with a nearby piece of debris only to find himself dodging another spread of chakra blasts. As Itachi moved out of the way of the attack, Sasuke suddenly got up and rushed in with eyes blazing and flashed through a set of handseals. "Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" He blew out a long stream of fire at Itachi. The older Uchiha dodged the attack and looked over at Kousei in time to dodge another set of blasts.

"T-Togu-san, please don't die…" Hinata cried as she ran over to the young woman as the trio of heirs was knocked away by Itachi. She looked up and stared at Itachi in disbelief. "H-how could you!?!"

"It is her own fault for interfering Hinata-san," Itachi replied and he dodged another of Hikaru's strikes before slamming the butt of his sword into her stomach, winding her in the process. He began to make his way over to Reihitsu as Neji ran over to Hikaru to guard her while both Sasuke and Kousei attacked again only for Itachi to slam Sasuke into the ground, knocking him out and threw Kousei into the wall. "Her death will be her final lesson in this world…"

Kousei pulled himself up and added a few more lines to the Sandan Juu. He took aim again as he struggled to his feet and the symbols changed to show a second layer to the rings. Neji distracted Itachi in vain with a round of kunai only for the knives to be caught and thrown back at him. The Shohou heir fired another spread of chakra blasts, destroying them with explosive force as Itachi turned his gaze to Kousei.

"Just because your eyes can copy does not mean you know of the Hyoushou," He stated as he took aim and Itachi simply shook his head.

"You cannot hope to defeat me without losing consciousness…" Itachi was cut off as he dodged another shot and the blood began to smoke as the lines turned to ash. "Stand down boy, and I will spare your kaa-san's life."

"No, Kaa-san!"

Naruto and Kousei turned around in horror as they recognized the voice. Itachi glared at the newcomer and recognized them as the reason for his difficulty in killing his mother right now. Shohou Shiika. His eyes locked on to hers and with a chilling voice spoke a single word that changed the entire battle. "Tsukuyomi,"

Shiika froze up and began to shake one second, and in the next, she let out an earsplitting scream as Shino came storming in. Her eyes dilated and tears exploded from her eyes as visions of horror filled her mind.

"For the next twelve hours you will watch what I did to my family, only, you will see your family in their place…" whispered Itachi as Shino rushed over to Shiika. He looked down in visible shock at his friend, and then his entire body began to shake with visible rage. A loud buzzing sound could be heard as his entire colony swarmed around him in anger.

Itachi calmly watched as Shino charged him in the rare Aburame rage and managed to strike the older boy in the face before he was sent flying over to Shiika in a bruised heap. Before he could move in to strike again, a large wave of killing intent knocked him off his feet as Naruto began to growl angrily.

"…You hurt my family…you hurt my cousin…you hurt my sister…" Everyone turned to Naruto and Hinata gasped at the sight of her crush lifting his head up to reveal his whisker marks growing even thicker and his pupils turning into dark slits. Large waves of dark red chakra began pulsing outwards from his body as he began to crouch down to the ground on all fours. "You will pay with blood **tonight,"**

Hinata quickly activated the Byakugan in time to see a brilliant red chakra flow through his body like it was second set of blood streams circling throughout his entire chakra system around his organs. Even his eyes were affected as both turned dark red and his incisors grew sharper and bigger while his nails grew into claws. Naruto slowly looked over at Itachi who found himself staring at Kyuubi through the blonde's eyes, and the massive spirit stared right back at him with teeth bared and markings appearing all over his body. A large mark appeared over his heart and the same mark appeared over Naruto's as the ground began to shake from the immense power. _**I give you my aide in mind and soul and all the power that you can handle, accept it and SEND HIM TO KAMI IN PIECES FOR HIS ACTIONS! MAKE HIM REGRET THIS FOR ETERNITY! **_

**"YOUR BLOOD IS MINE TONIGHT!"**

A large pillar of chakra exploded out of Naruto's body into the sky in the shape of a large fox head. Hinata gasped as the chakra came back down and slammed into Naruto, covering him entirely in the blazing chakra. While the chakra seemed to consume Naruto, everyone including Itachi watched in awe of the display of power as a large roar came out of the chakra inferno. The only ones not frozen were Hinata and Reihitsu who felt her blood began to boil madly while the young Heiress felt her heart beating wildly in her chest. _N-N-Naruto-kun…_ The chakra suddenly folded in on itself as the killing intent spiked up while Itachi snapped out of his trance and charged forward. Neji moved to intercept him but Itachi quickly created a set of clones to block him and Hikaru quickly went to his aide. _If he's already using the Kyuubi's chakra at this age from pure rage, he could become a real threat with time. _He was almost upon Naruto when Hinata rushed over and placed herself between Itachi causing Neji and Hikaru to cry out in horror as the blade came down upon her.

In a flash of red light, Naruto appeared in front of Hinata and with a powerful swing of his arm, shattered the broke the katana into pieces. He quickly brought up his other arm with nails out in a rising swipe of a counter attack with shocking speed and precision. Itachi had no choice but to jump back to avoid the attack, and was unprepared for the chakra cloak to stretch out into claws as Naruto swiped. The young Uchiha could only wince in pain when the first slash bit into his skin and soon was repeatedly being slashed by an enraged Naruto with Kyuubi's claws over and over again. He tried to send some chakra to the wounds to dull the pain but he was instantly overwhelmed by the intense burning sensation coming from the slash marks.

Sometime during the assault, Itachi thought Naruto was slowing down but instead he went faster and faster until he became nothing more than a frenzied blur of red as he began to pummel Itachi mercilessly. Each blow felt like a thousand and the force behind each one was already beginning to overwhelm Itachi's attempts to reinforce his body with chakra. He managed to use a clone to escape once only to find himself bombarded with needle like chakra blasts. Kousei let out a growl as he swung his palm to point at Itachi with a large white circle containing seven smaller ones in the middle continued to rotate at an insane speed in front of it. Though the blasts were small and insignificant by themselves, the sheer number of them along with the speed and force they were hitting him put Itachi in a defenseless position. He had no choice but to endure the bombardment which seemed to have no end in sight as he felt several of his muscles and limbs scream in pain.

After a few minutes the barrage ended and Itachi performed a quick substitution with a log that was soon turned into saw dust from Naruto's furious assault that missed him by a hair. The young jinchuuriki caught wind of a pair of scents caught his attention, and he turned around to Hinata who froze up underneath his gaze. Somehow his shirt had been destroyed in the frenzied assault he unleashed and right above his heart where muscle and skin was a strange symbol of a star contained within a sphere in glowing red color blazed into existence.

Itachi took the momentary lull in combat to catch his breath and quickly analyze his new opponent. _Just their rage alone and I'm already beaten and bruised. There's also that strange mark on Naruto, but I have no time to contemplate it. I must retreat quickly if I want to live. _He turned around to leave but was immediately sent flying into the ground by a fist connecting his face. Said fist belonged to one Shohou Reihitsu who simply smiled at the fallen Itachi darkly while her eyes glowed in the moonlight.

The Shohou Matriarch threw her head back and laughed madly at Itachi who fixed his gaze upon her and quickly attacked her. Naruto perked up at the sound of his mother's laughter and gave a low but distinct set of short growls in approval. "You messed with **MY** daughter, big mistake. Now. Your. Ass. Is. Mine."

"I don't think so," Itachi muttered, yet not even a second after he spoke he had to move as Reihitsu punched the ground where he had been a split-second later. The area immediately exploded underneath her fist, turning into a good sized crater yet she simply brushed it off and honed in on her target.

Before the Uchiha heir could move to launch a counterattack, he had to dodge another devastating punch, and was cut off in his attempt dodge by Reihitsu's heel headed straight for his forehead. Itachi blocked with one arm while bringing the other up for a hard strike to the captured leg to break it only to suddenly go flying through the air from a violent blow to his chin. He had no time to recover as another blow connected with him, this time to his chest, and he was again sent flying across the courtyard like a bolt from a crossbow. The enraged Matriarch flashed a dark wild grin of pleasure as she landed with a back flip for a brief moment before she exploded forward with a wild roar and launched her next assault on Itachi.

Naruto looked away from Hinata to watch with extreme pleasure and joy as Reihitsu knocked Itachi around like ragdoll with a devastating assault of punches and kicks. He managed to form a handseal in time to perform a substitution and avoid Reihitsu's strike as her axe kick obliterated the log he switched with into splinters. Itachi had barely enough time to catch his breath when Kousei unleashed his own attack to his surprise with his other arm. "Taihou (Cannon)!"

A large blast of chakra shot from his palm towards the part of the courtyard where Itachi was, destroying it in a powerful small explosion while Itachi reappeared away from the blast but not unharmed. His uniform was in tatters from both Naruto and Reihitsu yet Itachi had little time to worry about his clothes as he had to again fight Reihitsu. The Sharingan was working furiously to predict the next attack and relay the information to the brain, but it was too late as he hit with a solid hard punch to his face. _I can't see her attacks fast enough to dodge them, and she's too strong for me to block them. It's as if she's no longer human…_Itachi stopped thinking and his eyes widened at the revelation that hit him along with a straight kick to his waist. _She's worse than a demon, she's a force of nature in itself!_

To add to his fear and shock, Naruto suddenly joined the fray and began fighting with his mother despite Kyuubi's influence visible in his movements and use of his chakra claws and his sharp nails. In fact, the two seemed to be fighting as a single unit to form one unstoppable force of nature and rage that hit the young teenager like a hurricane. Itachi managed to barely dodge a wild Haymaker from Reihitsu a split-second before he was catching Naruto's wrist to prevent him from slashing him, and quickly had to let go in order to avoid being hit by Reihitsu's downward punch which cut his chin form the sheer speed as it connected with the earth.

The ground shook from the blow as Reihitsu slowly lifted her hand up from the center of the new crater while Naruto tilted his head to the side to study her before he launched himself at Itachi. Hinata could only stare at the mother and son in shock as they proceeded to knock Itachi around with incredible speed and brutality. On another level, she could not help but admire the level of teamwork the two showed by defending each other and attacking Itachi in synchronized attacks and separate attacks. Even with the Sharingan the young Uchiha was clearly outmatched by the duo whose level of teamwork and the sheer wild nature of their attacks made their attacks hard to predict.

While the pair caught Itachi in a vicious pincer maneuver right in mid-air, Kousei took the shot and caught Itachi off guard with another shot from his Taihou Hyoushou. The chakra blast impacted with the teenager's arm, forcing him into a spin from the momentum of the blast. As soon as he started to land, Reihitsu struck with a devastating kick to the injured arm, shattering the bones in his arm before he slammed into the wall and fell down in a beaten and bruised heap. Mother and son eyed him carefully waiting for him to move and they were rewarded by the sound of Itachi wheezing for breath in pain.

"…You're not some ordinary kunoichi," he stated and began to cough violently, sending some blood onto the ground from one of the attacks. Itachi paused in catching his breath to study the blood and then he looked up at Reihitsu glaring down at him with shining eyes from the moonlight. "…What are you Reihitsu-san?"

He did not receive an answer from her. Instead, she kicked him in the chest too fast for his body to keep up with what he saw just as Sarutobi appeared with Anko and Kakashi in his ANBU uniform along with Hiashi and Shibi. He looked at each of them for a moment before honing in on Mikoto as she managed to stop Togu's bleeding and now was trying to get her to stay still and she missed seeing her son's murderous gaze fall on her. Focusing some of his chakra into his eyes for one of the Mangekyou techniques, he opened his mouth in order to speak but was suddenly silenced. A loud pain filled curse replaced the word he wanted to say as a bloody Togu appeared in front of him with a strange smile on her face and a dark glow in her eyes. Mikoto looked in shock at the sudden movement of her patient while Itachi tried to attack her only to find himself out breath and unable to move.

"…This is payback…for taking my arm teme," whispered Togu between breaths as her remaining hand began to glow with a familiar red light. The four other Shohou recognized the light and immediately they moved as far away as they could from the two combatants.

Naruto ran over to Hinata and began whining loudly at her as Tate Hyoushou on his arm began to glow cloak around her like a soon as he reached her, he came to a sudden halt on all fours and with his instincts flaring up, spoke loud and clear. **"Kitsune-bi no tate…"**

Dark orange flames burst to life and formed into a large fiery shield in front of him. The shield quickly began to expand while his chakra cloak extended from his waist into a tail which immediately wrapped itself around Hinata. Surprised at the action, she looked at the back of his head to find his blazing eyes staring into her very soul with great intensity causing her to blush.

"It's over Itachi-teme, Gesshoku (Lunar Eclipse)!" cried Togu as Itachi struggled to escape. The symbol let out a bright flash of light from her palm followed by a large shroud of darkness that began to encompass them.

The light turned into a massive circle as did the darkness and the two expanded into a pair of large spheres a second before the two spheres overlapped each other in an eclipse, lighting up the entire compound for a brief moment. Everyone stared in awe for the miniature display and then the closest ones instinctively closed their eyes as the two spheres exploded in a violent flash of light. Hinata and Neji barely shut off their Byakugan while Hikaru shielded her eyes moments before the flash and then the immediate shockwave of the blast hit them. The fiery shield protected Hinata and held strong while Naruto simply let the shockwave pass by him without a single flinch.

Once the light faded and the shockwave died down, the rest of the group slowly opened their eyes and stared in shock at the large scorched crater where Togu and Itachi had been. Hinata felt Naruto slowly relax and the shield began to fade away as the chakra tail went back into his chakra cloak. The entire compound was silent as the damage was surveyed and the two mothers began searching for their clansmen. Reihitsu broke the silence first with a loud shout and she along with Mikoto ran over to the remains of a wooden wall to the limp form of Togu. Naruto whimpered as he caught the heavy smell of burnt flesh and Hinata began to rub his back to comfort him through the chakra cloak without resistance.

Straight across from Togu laid a burned Itachi slumped up against the wall and wincing in pain as he tried to stand up. Half of his body was scorched from the intense light with his right arm having suffered the brunt of the attack despite saving the limb. The skin from his elbow up to his shoulder was singed and scorched like his side, but below the elbow the skin was white as snow. Instead of black charred skin, Itachi's right elbow to his hand was burned to the point that it did nothing but hang limply at his side as he finally gasped in the immense pain.

"Your attack failed to kill me…" He grunted while Naruto fixed him with a furious glare.

"Reihitsu-sama…onegai…Naruto-kun…raise Eishi-chan……gomensai…." Togu whispered and her eyes closed as she went unconscious from the attack and the blood loss. Itachi finally managed to rise to his feet and looked over at Togu with an unusual feel of respect in his eyes.

"She was a strong kunoichi, it is a shame she can no longer be one like your daughter…" muttered Itachi as he tried to ignore the pain going through his body.

"Uchiha Itachi, you are under arrest for the deaths of your clansmen, the attempted murder of Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Sasuke, and your unborn sibling," Sarutobi angrily stated as Hiashi's Byakugan flared to life and a large swarm of kikaichuu took flight around Shibi.

"You spilled the blood of Shohou Togu, and for that, you will pay with your own," Han growled out and Reihitsu shot forward with a savage scream of pure rage. "For hurting my granddaughter, I will send you to hell myself."

**"HE'S MINE FIRST!"**

Within a second she was already in front of Itachi and before she could be stopped, she picked him up and gave him the most savage head butt ever recorded in kunoichi history. Itachi could only silently wail from the pain while the ANBU squad struggled to pull Reihitsu back. Naruto was already in motion when the ANBU squad finally succeeded in restraining the matriarch Naruto launched another assault. Hinata tried to run after him but Hiashi held her back as the Itachi swatted the blond away before collapsing onto the ground in pain. The Hyuuga Heiress could only watch as the chakra cloak quickly grew in size and a large tail formed from the chakra along with a pair of large ears.

Naruto turned more feral than before and with chakra claws the size of knives now and a full fox tail swaying behind him in anger, he let out a savage growl from his throat. His teeth were larger and sharper while his whisker marks were now fully dark, his pupils were sharp and curved, and his own hair had bits of red at the roots as if stained by his rage. As he opened his mouth to speak, a dark demonic bark exploded out of his throat in all its primal glory.

**"DIE!"**

The jinchuuriki shot forward with such speed that he left an after image of his chakra behind and brought his claws up across Itachi's chest in cross cut before he could react. Itachi bit down on his lip to the point of breaking the skin as a vicious X shaped cut appeared on his chest. He finally broke down and screamed in pain as the chakra began to burn his cuts and he fell to his knees while Naruto's voice was replaced by a voice that made all the adults gasp.

**"ROT IN HELL!" **came Kyuubi's voice mixed with Naruto's as the jinchuuriki brought his claws in an X shape swipe across Itachi's face. He had no time to even blink as the direct contact with the chakra claws sent pain shooting throughout his entire face. Itachi screamed loudly as Reihitsu appeared in front of him having broken free of the ANBU restraint with her fist pulled back and covered in flames.

**"NOW DIE BASTARD!" **She screamed in a demonic tone similar to Kyuubi's as she slammed her fist right into Itachi's chest.

White hot pain shot through his mind along with an intense burning sensation as fire exploded across his wounds causing him to finally pass out from the pain. Reihitsu took a hold of his collar and lifted him up before pummeling the traitor mercilessly until he finally flew into the wall and didn't fall down. The matriarch let out a furious roar and slammed her fist into the wall, breaking the stone from the sheer force of her last blow. Itachi slumped onto the ground unconscious and Reihitsu turned her head to Sarutobi to gaze at him with her eyes still dilated. None of the ANBU dared to approach her as she panted madly with her breath coming out as a dark mist like a thick breath of smoke.

She slowly growled at Sarutobi yet nodded to him, and reluctantly let the ANBU take Itachi away from her. Naruto was thoroughly confused and furious over the show of mercy, and voiced his opinion to Reihitsu in a serious of angry barks. To Hinata and Neji's surprise, she answered him with a set of rapid barks and growls of her own. Her answer seemed to satisfy Naruto and the chakra began to slowly recede back into his system.

As the changes brought on by the chakra disappeared one by one Naruto took a moment to look over to Hinata and gave her one last intense look before his eyes became normal again. The disappearance of the chakra along with the adrenaline rush hit the blond hard and fast, and he fell into Reihitsu's waiting arms as her pupils began to turn back to normal. Hinata quickly ran over to him to check for injuries but Reihitsu shook her head at the worried girl.

"Don't worry, he's just exhausted from the fight," she explained gruffly as her voice slowly went back to normal. The woman looked from her son over to Togu who was being carried away to a hospital by stretcher and then over to Itachi who was being stabilized on the spot. "Lucky night for the bastard…for now…"

"…Um…R-Reihitsu-san, what was t-t-that chakra from N-Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata and Reihitsu gave her a sigh.

The matriarch turned her gaze onto the young heiress before looking over to Sarutobi. She muttered about laws and idiots before letting out a heavy sigh. Before she could speak though, a grunt brought her attention down to Naruto who was looking at the two through half-open eyes.

"Kaa-san…is Hinata-chan, safe?" The blond whispered, feeling his mind fall to the sudden heavy fatigue he felt. Anko and Kakashi joined the matriarch and heiress while the ANBU began taking Mikoto and Sasuke to the hospital for an in-depth checkup. "Hinata-chan…is she safe?"

Reihitsu exchanged looks with the other two adults and nodded. The boy smiled at them before looking around and his gaze fell on Hinata. "Good…"

With that final word on his lips, Naruto slipped away into a deep sleep with a peaceful smile on his face. Hinata let out a soft sigh. She gazed over her crush with a bit of worry in her eyes as she reached out and touched the mark on his chest. The red light was no longer present leaving the mark to be revealed as a dark gray color that matched Kousei and Shiika's eyes. Noticing the symbol as well, Anko and Kakashi looked to Reihitsu for an answer.

She sighed and looked up as Yoyate came into view with the other children and Shiika in the lead. The matriarch gave Naruto over to Hinata so she could catch her daughter to comfort her while the ANBU took Itachi away. None of them dared to go near Reihitsu as she began to stroke her child's back to relax her. Sarutobi didn't know who he should pity first, Itachi who was being sent to the ICU, or the Konoha Council who would be demanding to know what happened. _One clan on the verge of extinction in just one night, and tomorrow I will have all of them in an uproar over what has taken place tonight. _He looked over at Naruto resting peacefully with his head in Hinata's lap as the young heiress quietly hummed a lullaby to the boy. The old shinobi honed in on the mark over the blonde's heart and scrunched his brow tightly. _I pray your spirit is as strong as your heart Naruto-kun, you will need it in the days to come…_With that single thought in mind, Sarutobi signaled to the two ANBU still in the area and together they escorted the Shohou and their guests back to the compound…

**********************************************

The remainder of the week after the Uchiha Massacre saw the village in an uproar over the major loss of the clan except for three members, one of which was responsible for the attack. Yet some of the civilians on the councils believed it to be the result of Naruto and were demanding that he be arrested along with Reihitsu. Sarutobi had to hold himself back from letting Han confront the civilians, and calmly reminded them about the eye witness accounts; though very few of them listened.

Fed up with the vehement protests of the rest of the civilian members, Sarutobi simply told them to bring their complaints up with the accused in person to resolve the matter. The protestors immediately marched down to the Shohou Compound with a small group of ANBU with them to personally oversee the arrest themselves. When morning came the next day, over half of them were in the hospital from broken bones and all but two of the ANBU were in ICU. None of the civilians dared to even look at Reihitsu as she stormed through the streets for fear of her rage. Even some of the children in the academy who hated the Shohou trio and their friends kept their mouths shut though Sarutobi suspected that Kousei's brief visit had something to do with it.

Sasuke and Mikoto were slightly better off as the news of Mikoto's pregnancy helped to ease the loss of the clan. With Shiika having also experienced the Tsukuyomi and with Sasuke having had a longer exposure to it, the two were able to help the other recover slowly but steadily. Togu and Itachi were not as well off and even after hours of surgery and numerous close calls, the two were finally stabilized and put into ICU units with ANBU guards posted every hour of the day. Both were under heavy sedation, though Itachi seemed to be in pain even in his sleep, a side effect of the cuts that Naruto gave him using Kyuubi's chakra.

Sarutobi let out a sigh as he thought about the young boy. Naruto's part in the fight had surprising to say the least, especially as Kyuubi had seemed to be giving the boy chakra willingly. Despite the odd moment of agreement in the battle, Naruto had exhausted himself using his tenant's chakra and as a result his body went into a deep sleep. He had eventually woken up the next after Togu and Itachi were out of surgery, and immediately escaped the hospital after checking up on his cousin. The boy's awakening had the added effect in boosting Sasuke and Shiika's recovery as well as Togu's as if his mere presence was some sort of medicine. Even young Eishi who had been crying ever since she heard what happened was quickly returning to her normal self with Naruto's presence.

The old shinobi chuckled as he removed himself from his thoughts and looked out of his office at the four Hokage's staring back at him from the mountainside. "I have a feeling you would be proud of him Yondaime, Naruto has your spirit and heart…"

**********************************************

"Achoo!"

"Are you trying to get us caught dobe?"

"N-Naruto-kun…"

The young boy simply waved Sasuke off before placing his ear up against the door. He had been curious about why their mothers kept on meeting together every day since the massacre, and finally decided to take action. With Hinata's help, he had convinced Sasuke to join them inside one of the secret hallways connected to the Shohou Council room where their mother's continued to meet.

Once they were sure that none of the mothers had heard them, they put their ear up against the door carefully and listened.

"I can't wait any longer sis, and I won't sleep easy until I have an answer or Itachi is no longer a threat to you..." spoke Reihitsu.

"Haven't we always wanted our children to be friends like we were under our sensei as genin?" asked Hikaru.

"Come on Mikoto, I wouldn't make this offer to anyone else but Hikaru…"

"I know Reihitsu-kun, I know. But what you're asking me to do is remove my son from his heritage…"

"…You don't want them to forget about what happened or the family they have lost…I understand Mikoto-kun, we both do…"

"There's so much I have to think about such as the council, taking care of Sasuke-kun and my next child…"

"Leave those old crones to me, you just worry about that little squirt growing in ya'…"

"Reihitsu-kun is right Mikoto-kun, and I would be glad to help you when the time comes,"

The three children exchanged confused looks for a moment before they went back to listening, unaware of Reihitsu walking up to the wall as three mothers continued talking.

"Come on sis, you can't keep on putting this off, the kids know something's up and the longer you take," She banged in between the two doors, releasing the lock on them. The doors swung open and Sasuke fell out onto his face along with Naruto and Hinata who blushed at landing on top of the blond. "The more times these three are going to eavesdrop, nice try Naruto-chan,"

"Itai, you did that on purpose kaa-san," He complained as Hinata helped him to his feet, all the while rubbing his injured forehead. "We just wanted to know what's going on with you and Mikoto-san,"

"G-gomen kaa-san, I w-wanted to know as well…"

Mikoto looked from the other two children and their mothers to her own son who was looking at her with a frown on his face and worried eyes. "Kaa-san, what's Reihitsu-san talking about and what does it have to do with our family?"

The Uchiha Matriarch smiled at her son and let out a sigh. She looked from her friends to the children once before taking a step forward over to Sasuke and hugged him. Her action confused Sasuke who slowly returned the embrace while looking over to his friends in confusion. Naruto and Hinata looked to their own mothers for an answer only for Hikaru to place her finger over her mouth and gestured towards Mikoto and Sasuke.

"Reihitsu-kun offered to let us live here in the Shohou compound, permanently," The trio of children gasped and Naruto turned to his mother in shock while Mikoto continued. "Sasuke-kun, what do you want to do?"

He looked at his mom, then to Naruto who smiled at him, then to Hinata who copied Naruto, and then back to his mom. They all watched as he slowly reached out and placed a hand on his mother's stomach for a minute before finally looking up to his mom.

"I want to restore our clan kaa-san… put our clan to rest," Sasuke replied, and Mikoto smiled sadly at her son and nodded. She gave him one last squeeze and then broke off, turning to Reihitsu while Sasuke walked over to Naruto and Hinata.

The younger trio all smiled at each other, and Naruto patted Sasuke on the shoulder. Hinata smiled at Sasuke and he smiled back at his two best friends before they all looked over to Mikoto and Reihitsu. Both women simply stared at the other while Hikaru stayed by the children to support them as they all waited for one of them to speak. After what seemed like an eternity to the children, Mikoto cleared her throat and took a step forward towards Reihitsu. "…I have come to a decision Reihitsu-san,"

"Alright," She took a deep breath and her eyes became focused as Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all tensed up. "What is your answer Mikoto-san?"

"My answer is…."

* * *

Holy friggin' crap, I used a cliffhanger! Next chapter, Mikoto's answer is revealed, the Ketsueki Fude is explained further, and Naruto tells Hinata a secret...

**Daifu - godfather**

Please read and review, and I'll reply as soon as I can. Tell me what you think about the chapter, every review helps, thank you!


	4. Love, Training, and Brutal Beat Downs

Nexus: Hi, I'm Nexus and he's Bladeheart. We're doing the introductions from now on for the author, yay!  
Bladeheart: Ignore the details about us and just look at the profile for answers…(hands a list to Nexus) Here.  
Nexus: Thank you. And thank you for the reviews Dragon Man 180, Neomax-Phazon, Rena the pirate jedi wizard, Shingen Takeda 1521, justwishing1 and Rose Tiger. The author is very grateful for your reviews and opinons!  
Bladeheart: (points to author name) Author's disclaimer. Does not own Naruto, this disclaimer is mandatory. Does own OCs, ideas, and related junk that was created by author, blah blah blah...  
Nexus: (rapidly nods head) Enjoy the story! Please remember to review and tell mister author what you think of his story!  
Bladeheart: Yeah, it helps him keep this story original. (smirks) Come on; let's go grab the popcorn…  
Nexus: Yay popcorn!  
Bladeheart and Nexus: Enjoy the story!  
Bladeheart: Pass the popcorn...

"Speech"

"_**Demon speech"**_

"**Demon speech"**

_Thought_

_**Demon thought**_

Author: Please note that **"Demon Speech"** is direct speech between a demon and a human, or someone with feral or wild nature.

* * *

_**Blessing From A Curse**_

Chapter 4: All's Fair in Love, Training, and Brutal Beat Downs

"Love, Training, and Brutal Beat Downs"

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"….We'll stay."

Reihitsu smiled at her friend while their children all looked at each other with smiles. "Good, now let's get all your shit from your house and-,"

"-No cussing in front of my son Reihitsu-chan," Mikoto smiled as the matriarch pouted at the taller woman. "I don't want your bad habits to rub off on him or my other child when they come,"

"I'm the Shohou Matriarch here and what I say goes damn it!" she shouted angrily while the children all began to shake with silent laughter. "I can cuss when the hell and where the hell I please!"

"Not anymore Reihitsu-chan,"

"DAMN IT TO HELL!"

"Aw, Reihitsu-chan is so cute when she's angry," cooed Hikaru playfully as the shorter woman growled at her two friends angrily. The trio of children snickered at the rare sight of the fiery matriarch throwing a tantrum and quickly ran out of the room with an angry Reihitsu on their tails…

**********************************************

_**Two Months Later…**_

The young matriarch yawned and leaned to the side in time for Sasuke to trip over her foot and fall flat onto his face. He winced at the familiar feeling of pain, one which he had experienced repeatedly in the past two months. The first week had been defeat after defeat against the short woman and even now he had yet to progress to exchanging blows with her despite how hard he tried. His latest attempt was proof enough of that and Sasuke groaned as he quickly got up to his feet.

"You're going easy on me aren't you?" he asked, slightly put off that she had yet to hit him in any of the spars he had with her.

Before he could even react, Sasuke found himself on the ground gasping for breath while Reihitsu remained standing with one knee lifted up where she had hit him in the gut. She tucked her hands into her pockets and gazed at him with a bored look on her face. "If you have the energy to talk kiddo, you have the energy to fight,"

She slowly began to smile and Sasuke felt a shiver go down his spine as she suddenly disappeared from sight in a blur. _This is going to hurt…_He started to brace himself for the pain and on cue it came at him with a vengeance that kami would be proud of.

Naruto had finished up his knife and weapon training with Yoyate early and now was calmly walking across the courtyard towards the main dojo. _Maybe I can ask kaa-san if she can teach Hinata-chan how to talk to me while I'm in my tailed state, after I tell her about Kyuubi-baka... _He told himself, ignoring the growls coming from his tenant and thought about how he would tell his closest friend without scaring her or losing her friendship. While the Shohou understood his position, Naruto knew that his clan had a very explicit ideology. The first year of his history lessons underneath Togu had taught him that, and Naruto paused for a moment before making a very sound mental note to see his teacher and god-daughter that afternoon.

As he approached the building he made out the sitting form of Mikoto on the small wooden porch. The new Uchiha Matriarch smiled at him as he approached and he waved to her in greeting. Before he could call out though, his sixth sense suddenly went off and he quickly ducked down on instinct while Mikoto winced at the shout from the dojo. On cue a blur of one Sasuke went flying over Naruto's head and crashed into one of the bushes nearby while Reihitsu simply walked out of the dojo. The young woman looked at the book in Mikoto's lap for a moment before sticking out her tongue at her friend.

Mikoto rolled her eyes at her friend's childish behavior and then frowned as she noted the latest injury her son had received that morning. He growled under his breath as he got out of the bush then charged at Reihitsu who simply swerved around his punch. The matriarch smirked for a moment before she began to wet the tip of her pinky while dodging another attack from Sasuke. Her little move did not go unnoticed by Naruto who recognized the smirk and gave one of his own as he watched his mother put her plan into action. Sasuke had no idea what he was in for as he threw a haymaker at Reihitsu, too busy thinking about his own plan. _As soon as she moves to dodge, I'll catch her by surprise with an uppercut_. The image of his victory danced in his head as his opponent stepped back and he threw his left fist up right into the woman's face.

To his surprise, she swerved in mid-step into a spin going around his uppercut to his side with an evil grin on her face. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Naruto smiling at him mischievously with a wink before pulling a camera out of his pocket. The blond took aim as Reihitsu wrapped her arm around Sasuke while Mikoto shook her head in disbelief.

"I can only wonder how you survived being raised by Reihitsu-chan…" She said to Naruto as he stood up and tilted his head to the side.

"Ne? But I'm perfectly fine Mikoto-san," He replied before letting out a bark of laughter as Reihitsu looked down at her victim with an evil smile. "Say cheese Sasuke-kun!"

Said boy gave his friend a confused look right before he felt something cold and wet enter his ear. His eyes slowly widened in shock before he let out a loud yelp that was quickly overwhelmed by his tormenter's psychotic laugh as she continued to wiggle her pinky around.

"Get it out for the love of Kami, someone get it out!" screamed Sasuke as Reihitsu quickly removed her finger and spat on it before going back to the training turned torture. "Oh kami it's wiggling in my ear!"

"Dance for me fan boy, boy mwahahahahaha!" laughed Reihitsu.

"Please help me kaa-san!"

"Not even kami can stop me now hahahahaha!"

"KAA-SAN!"

Mikoto sweat-dropped at her friend's antics and looked over to see Naruto snapping photos away of the torture session with glee. _I don't know who is worse, Reihitsu-chan or Naruto-kun. _She quickly banished the nightmares from her thoughts and came to her son's much needed rescue.

"I don't think you have ever grown up yet Reihitsu-chan," she said while Sasuke shot his friend a look that promised death if he did not burn the photos. "Honestly, what kind of example are you setting for Naruto-kun with that kind of behavior?"

"The kind that won't have any trouble worrying about little shits fighting them,"

"Reihitsu-chan…"

The fiery kunoichi lazily turned her head around to her friend, raising both eyebrows slightly while giving Mikoto a bored look as if she was just now acknowledging her presence. Naruto looked from his mother over to Mikoto who looked back at her with a slightly annoyed look on her face. Having seen this as one of the signs the two were about to start arguing, he quickly put his blackmail camera away and stepped in before either one could speak. That and he could ask her the question that had been on his mind before Sasuke came flying over him.

"Hey kaa-san, how come we understood each other's barks?" he asked her.

Reihitsu looked over at him and smiled at him gently. "I'll tell you tomorrow, and I'll tell your hime about it too,"

"My hime…" he whispered to himself. The young blond blushed a little at the idea of Hinata being his, and strangely found himself agreeing with her.

"Weren't you two supposed to see Eishi-chan off to the Aburame compound?" asked Sasuke. Naruto nodded and hid his blush in vain while his friend just snickered at him only to stop when Naruto tapped his pocket holding the camera and smirked.

"That makes it the eight time this month Reihitsu-chan, I'm surprised you're not worried about her," said Mikoto and she looked over at her fellow matriarch to see her smiling mischievously like her son often did. The fact that Naruto seemed to be shaking at the smile only made Mikoto even more nervous. "You didn't do that did you?"

"What did kaa-san do Mikoto-oba-san?"

She whipped her head around to find Shiika looking at the two matriarchs, head tilted to the side and a large pack strapped to her back with a duffel bag tucked under her arm. The young Shohou heiress looked at the two women with innocent curiosity that had managed to survive the trauma of Tsukiyomi. Both of them exchanged glances and Mikoto shot a quick glare over at Reihitsu who simply smiled and gave her daughter a gentle pat on the head.

"She thinks I had you and buggy betrothed without your permission and consent," she explained while Mikoto glared daggers into her back. "Little one, would I ever force you to marry someone you didn't like?"

"Of course not kaa-san, that would be silly, dumb, and mean," replied Shiika.

"Right," Reihitsu smiled at her daughter and ruffled her playfully.

The little girl giggled happily and laughed as Naruto picked her up onto his shoulders while taking her duffel bag off her hands. "So what does that make Shino-kun, hm?"

"Shino-kun…" Naruto smiled as his sister turned an interesting shade of red to rival Hinata's. Blushing as bright as the Hyuuga heiress, Shiika checked the hairpiece she had received from her crush while her brother brightened up at the arrival of Hikaru along with Hinata and Hanabi.

"Ohayo Hinata-chan, Hikaru-san, Hanabi-chan,"

"Ohayo N-naruto-kun, Shiika-chan," she replied with a blush on her cheeks. "Are you r-ready to see Shino-kun-n?"

"H-hai, come on Naruto-ani, to Shino-kun!"

"Yes ma-am!"

Naruto gave a mock salute to his sister before locking his arms underneath her legs. The trio bid their parents and Sasuke a farewell from Shiika while Naruto and Hinata promised to return in time for training. With a quick smile and a wink, the young blond and his friend took off towards the gate, and soon after they left Sasuke gave his mother a polite bow before going back into the dojo's weight room to go through his drills. The trio of mothers smiled at their children and began talking amongst themselves with the occasional outburst from Mikoto or Hikaru and the laughter from Reihitsu…

************************************************************

In the Aburame compound, Shibi watched his son go through his drills with a little bit of extra energy in his step. The clan of kikachu users was known for their strong discipline and control of their emotions, and was believed to be almost impossible to show anything other than logic. Despite the assumptions and theories, the clan was actually very capable of showing emotions but kept them in heavy check to strengthen their connection with their kikachu. A few Aburame were able to show emotions freely without worrying about disturbing their colonies such as Shibi's own wife, Sori. What caught the patriarch's eye at the moment though was the subtle manner in which his son practiced. He didn't hear the buzz of his heir's hive in reaction to the emotion, and in fact, seemed to be resonating with his added energy.

Shino threw a swift claw strike at an invisible enemy before coming to a stop as he caught his father's silent signal to stop. The young heir panted quietly and looked at his father attentively, though a small part of his thoughts were focused on his friend's arrival to the compound. On cure, his father looked up for a moment and then gazed down at his son who waited for him to speak.

"Your kaa-san is greeting your friends at the front door," he said, pausing for a moment as the next sent of inaudible information came into his head. "My scouts tell me that Shiika-chan is with them,"

"I shall welcome here at once," exclaimed Shino and he froze up at the realization of his outburst of emotion. "If that is acceptable with you tou-san…"

"I would be intrigued and disturbed if you did not greet Shiika-chan, you may go,"

Hinata and Naruto looked around the entrance of the compound admiring the large garden that surrounded the inner compound. The young blond noted that the Yamanaka and the Aburame both had an affinity for flora which only deferred in the fact that the Aburame compound had a good amount of wild flowers that they tended to with the aid of their kikachu. He remembered seeing a good number of flowers from the Aburame compound being sold in the Yamanaka's shop, which he deduced was because of the Aburame's connection with the kikachu. It made him frown to think about how close-minded the civilians were and some of the shinobi, and also smile at the fact that the Aburame clan understood his burden as Kyuubi's prison just as the Shohou did.

He drifted out of his thoughts and back to his surroundings in time to hear a soft gasp come from his sister. The young Shohou princess jumped off her brother's shoulders and shot around Naruto in a blur. He and Hinata watched as Shino came into view just in time for Shiika to catch him in a flying hug which he caught, and returned causing her to look up at him with a bright smile on her face.

"Ohayo Shino-kun," she happily greeted while tilting her head to the side.

"Ohayo Shiika-chan, I'm glad you could make it," The Shohou princess blushed brightly and stepped back as Naruto set down the duffle bag. Shino composed himself quickly before turning to Naruto and Hinata, giving them a slight nod in greeting. "Ohayo Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan,"

"Ohayo Shino-kun,"

"Yo' Shino-kun, you two look pretty comfortable like that," teased Naruto, much to Shiika and Shino's embarrassment judging by their blushes. The blond had let Shino know as soon as he got the chance about his feelings for Shiika. "So, how long are you two going to stay like that?"

Shiika shot her brother a look yet the smile on her face showed she understood he was only joking. Though that didn't stop her from standing on her tiptoes and placing a peck on Shino's cheek before sticking her tongue out at Naruto. "Meanie, I'll get you back tomorrow,"

"I'll hold you to that Shiika-ane," the two siblings smiled at each other while Sori smiled at the group of children.

The mother of Shino was one of the rare Aburame that openly expressed themselves, though she did have moments of rare reservation, only when she was in deep thought. Otherwise, she was much like Naruto with the exception of having black hair and being a female of course.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, are you two free to stay a little while today?" she asked and the two shook their heads.

"Not this time, kaa-san wants both of us to start some special training for me that she says no one else can teach us in Konoha," came Naruto's reply as he put his hands into his pockets.

"I a-also have training with my kaa-san in kenjutsu and taijutsu today," she said. Sori took note of the small wooden ninjato at her side and smiled at the Hyuuga heiress as she looked at the sun and turned to Naruto. "We s-should be going now N-Naruto-kun,"

The blond looked at the sun for a moment before nodding and turned to Shiika. He wagged his finger at her like a parent to a mischievous child and addressed her in a mock-adult tone. "Now you behave yourself young lady, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Oh, so you haven't kissed Hinata-nee-chan yet?"

"Shut up n-nee-chan man, Anko-nee-chan is a bad influence on you…"

Shiika faked an evil cackle similar to a certain purple haired jonin while Naruto and Hinata blushed as the image went through their heads. They didn't say anything to each other, though it was obvious that neither one seemed to toss the idea aside. Shino hid a smirk behind his jacket while Sori the duffel bag and showed Shiika to her room after she gave a farewell wave to her sibling and friend. Naruto caught the smirk though, and he slipped into his protective brother persona, adding a slight amount of chakra to his nails to turn them into sharp claws.

"I know you two are getting tight so I'll keep this short and simple; treat her right," he said, and Shino gave him an understanding nod.

"You have my word Naruto-kun," the two watched as Shino looked in Shiika's direction as she turned around and gave him an energetic wave before turning back to follow Sori. A small smile came across his face which Naruto and Hinata both noted as he turned back to them. "I won't let any harm come to her again,"

"Just go already lover boy, sheesh and I thought Kakashi-kun was bad when it came to Anko-nee-chan," Naruto smirked at Shino who narrowed his eyes at the comment while blushing behind his collar. "Can't take a joke Shino-kun?"

Before he could give retort to return the favor though, the blond had grabbed Hinata by the hand and took off in a speedy blur with the aid of his Bakushin, leaving Shino to smile and sigh at his friend's antics. He couldn't blame the blond, though he did take a little bit of pleasure in the fact that Naruto only teased him in order to get him relaxed. The blond disliked anyone being composed for long periods of time, something that the Aburame heir learned quickly and had come to accept. That did not stop Shiika though from returning the favor in defense of her "best friend that happened to be a boy" and making both Hinata and Naruto turn the same color of red.

He smiled at the thought of the young Shohou princess, and felt a small hand take a hold of his while the owner gave him a big smile. "Ani-kun is only teasing us Shino-kun,"

"I know Shiika-chan, he does keep the teasing to a small limit though when Hinata-chan is around," he replied, returning the smile with one of his own. The two began walking around the courtyard, taking the flora and various insects in as they looked at them. "On a lighter note, I do not think I will return the favor once they confess their feelings to each other,"

"Yeah, but only because kaa-san and nee-chan will be doing it for us," she said mischievously with a smile.

"True, I admire that logical quality of yours,"

Shiika smiled and laced her fingers in Shino's, leaning against his arm in the process. "Aw, and I thought you liked me because I'm cute,"

"That I admire as well, though only as second to your energy,"

The young heiress giggled at Shino and watched as a couple of his kikachu crawled onto her shoulder. With a shared smile between the two, they walked further into the compound catching up with each other's recent goings as well as a certain blonde and a certain Hyuuga. Naruto and Hinata were reported to have sneezed several times that very same day though only Shino and Shiika would admit to being the causes…

**********************************************

Naruto woke up the next day filled with energy and excitement almost shouting out loud in his enthusiasm. He had remembered his mother's promise concerning how she had talked to him while in his one tailed state, and hoped that she might be able to teach him how to control himself in that state. Fortunately though, Hinata was quick to calm him down before he gave any loud outbursts, reminding him of the two other occupants in the bed with a gentle gesture of her hands. The blond looked over at the sleeping form of Eishi and Hanabi who were both hugging a large stuffed fox each as a pillow. Both of them had taken to sleeping with their sibling or godparent in Eishi's case whenever the Hyuuga sisters slept over at the Shohou compound. Reihitsu had teased Hiashi one day about when Naruto and Hinata had done the same thing causing the Hyuuga Patriarch to glare at her with a blush on his face while Hikaru simply giggled politely behind her hand. Neither one had any clue why Hiashi was mad about it, though they had made sure to have Eishi and Hanabi sleep with them just so he wouldn't go crazy at the next get together they had.

After a half-hour of changing into their respected training outfits, consisting of a simple lack of a jacket and jacket with a water bottle each, they carefully woke up the two children and told them about their training. Once Hanabi and Eishi had managed to nod before going back to sleep, the two friends left and made their way to the dining hall where they were greeted by Mikoto and Sasuke. Their friend gave them a small grunt in greeting while Mikoto gave them a small smile to make up for her son's morning attitude. He had yet to properly adapt to the early morning training routine, though Naruto believed it was more along the lines of being unprepared for the Shohou Matriarch's definition of training. Amongst the members of the clan as well as Rookies who often would join Naruto with his training, only the blond himself, his siblings, and Hinata could keep up with Reihitsu. Even then, only Naruto and Hinata were able to last long enough to spar with her though in truth the others suspected that the presence of the blond jinchuuriki was the reason Hinata could last as long. The opposite though could be said for Naruto, however, the blond had other things on his mind, and namely the secret he had been planning to tell his friend ever since he used Kyuubi's chakra to fight Itachi.

He paused for a moment in his internal debate to think about the massacre and the perpetrator who had hurt his friends and most importantly, his little sister. _Those idiots on the council are more annoying than the villagers. _Naruto popped a sausage roll into his mouth and took his frustration out on the meat. _Itachi-teme should be grateful he's still alive, I know kaa-san would have ripped his head off if he wasn't "valuable to Konoha". _The blond frowned in remembrance of one particular council member during their protest of Itachi's imprisonment. Mainly, the man had argued on the importance of the Sharingan to Konoha though his argument held little water when Sarutobi reminded the councilor of the Ketsueki Fude and Byakugan. _Now that I think about it, oji-san said he would be taking over my Hyoushou training from now on until Togu-sensei recovers fully. Still, I wish I could find that so called Sanin who refused to come, probably some booze hound with a gambling problem…_ He thought as he continued his breakfast.

Somewhere in the Land of Fire, a blond woman sneezed and promptly lost her bet causing her to grab her assistant and run out of the casino as fast as she could. Once she had stopped running, she cursed under her breath and promised to make the person responsible for her loss to pay. Naruto felt the beginnings of a sneeze coming on and quickly picked up his napkin in time to catch said sneeze. _Man, my name must be really popular…or am I imagining things? _His train of thought was interrupted by the timely arrival of his mother who he quickly greeted happily.

"Mornin' kaa-san,"

"Ohayo Reihitsu-sensei,"

The matriarch smiled at the two and in a burst of speed, came up behind them and gave them a large hug, pulling them out of their seats in the process. "I was just thinking about you two kids, ready for your training now?"

"Hell yeah, what about you Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as he took one last bite off his pancake, chasing it done with his orange juice.

"H-hai, where will we be t-training at?" the two friends looked to their teacher who smiled at them and swiped one of Naruto's sausages, swatting his hand as he tried to retake it.

"My training room of course now come on kids or I'll have Gai-kun help me with your taijutsu training," One yellow haired blur and a dark blue haired blur shot out of the dining hall leaving Mikoto to shake her head at Reihitsu while Sasuke grumbled under his breath. Seeing him still there, the matriarch walked over to him and quietly whispered into his ear. "I wonder if Anko-chan would like to help with your training,"

Sasuke shot out of the room in a frenzied blur while Mikoto simply sweat-dropped and Reihitsu chuckled darkly under her breath. The matriarch looked over to her friend with a glint in her eyes but a sharp look from Mikoto stopped her from swiping one of her sausages. "Try it and you'll die."

"Is that a challenge sis'?"

The training room Reihitsu had referred to, where two friends were currently waiting for the owner to come to was something that held an aura of awkward balance between order and chaos. Mostly chaos which fit the matriarch's personality as a wild force of nature that was somehow kept in check from becoming too wild, which they knew was from her training. The bar on the ceiling which was for crunches and chin-ups was just the tip of the iceberg as Naruto and Hinata saw a wooden dummy in the back along with a set of heavy weights and a weight bar. Before they could take the rest of the room into account they heard a loud shout followed by a scream that made them jump. The scream was soon followed by a familiar maniacal laugh along with several curses and someone throwing a chair at a wall.

Hinata looked over at Naruto who listened carefully for a while longer before smiling and mouthing his mother's name. She nodded in understanding and after a while blushed then quickly turned away leaving Naruto slightly confused at her actions before realizing he had been staring at her. _My heart keeps beating like kaa-san hits the training dummies, and my face feels like its burning whenever she looks at me like that. _He glanced over at her carefully in time to catch a full glimpse of her profile and found himself staring at her differently than normal. The young blond couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about looking at Hinata that made his heart speed up and his thoughts focus on the young heiress in front of him. _She looks, not kawaii, but something better than just kawaii. _Naruto raked his brain for the word in his vast yet unused vocabulary to describe his friend and that's when he noticed a particular scent in the room. A scent that he knew could not belong to his mother and the only one close to him that could possibly have it couldn't be the source. _That scent, I've smelt it before…_

"Hinata-chan, do you smell lavender?" Naruto politely asked and to his surprise she jumped up at his voice with a heavy blush on her face. He took a moment to sniff the air for the scent, and noticed that it was somewhere inside of the room.

"N-n-naruto-kun!" she squeaked as her friend closed his eyes and continued to follow his nose. He began to turn his head slowly while sniffing the air to check the scent, doing this with every slight turn of his head until at last he unknowingly was looking in Hinata's direction.

Curious about the scent and the strange sensation he was feeling, Naruto began to move closer to the now blushing heiress who was too shy to speak as the blond drew closer to her. _Lavender, I know that scent from somewhere but where and why am I so concerned about it?_ Instinct was beginning to drive him, but not the instinct of a shinobi that would have told him to sit still. No, the instincts that were driving Naruto now and overriding his training were that of one of nature's greatest trackers, a fox. _Before I fell asleep from the fight, I smelled lavender close to me and I remember protecting that scent._ With each whiff Naruto took another step forward, unaware that he was beginning to walk on all fours towards the source of the pleasant scent. Each step brought him closer and closer to finding the scent's origin while for Hinata each step he took caused her to blush darker and darker. _I have to find the lavender kitsune, she's important to me. _The two children were so focused on their own situation that neither of them noticed the sudden silence outside of the room. So entranced by each other's actions though Naruto did not know so, they also didn't notice Reihitsu slide the door shut behind her quietly and the matriarch leaned back to observe the two closely.

_First was his sense of smell getting better, then his hearing, and just last week the kid was able to detect Kousei during stealth training…_the matriarch watched as Naruto stopped in front of Hinata and began sniffing furiously at her knees. He paused for a moment as if in thought, then moved from her knees to her stomach. Reihitsu smirked at the new shade of red on Hinata's face though her thoughts were not focused solely on the show before her. _The seal is designed to only filter chakra into Naruto's system and prevent fuzzy-ass from taking over. During the fight, his actions were a mix of his regular fighting style and the movements of a fox. _She paused for a moment in her ponderings to watch her son begin to move his head up towards his friend's chest. The poor girl was on the verging of fainting when the young blond suddenly stopped and sat back on his legs like a canine would. Confused, Hinata watched Naruto tilt his head to one side before cautiously take a step forward and began sniffing again. _It's possible that he's using a form of my technique and retaining some of his human instincts. Something about that marking and now this has the words fuzzy ass written all over them. _Reihitsu resumed observing the two and Naruto finally was directly in front of Hinata in a low crouch with his nose an inch away from Hinata's. The young heiress looked as if she was going to combust at the slightest sign of movement from her crush, and the observing matriarch began counting down silently in her head.

_ If his human instincts are regaining dominance this fast, his fox instincts should make one last stand right about now. _On cue the blonde leaned forward and began rubbing his cheek against Hinata's much to her embarrassment as she opened her mouth to squeak but nothing came out. _Shit, now I wish I hadn't broke that camera over Chizu's head now, _Reihitsu mused as a smile spread across her face. _Let's see, he should be back to human instincts soon. I wonder what he thinks he's rubbing cheeks with. _The woman took a moment to ponder her question while keeping an eye on the two children to see who would react first.

Inside of Naruto's mind, the young jinchuuriki was in a heaven that smelled of lavender and felt of smooth soft fur. He had hoped to find the young female kit he had protected during the hunt of the weasel under his mother's guidance. The battle had been too pitched for him to catch the female's name, though her scent of lavender had caught his attention and he managed put it to memory before falling asleep. Now that he had found her after two months, he wanted to see her for himself and so Naruto slowly opened his eyes and found himself cheek to cheek with Hinata. _Wow, she looks just like hime-wait a second that is hime!_ His eyes shot open wide as he went from feeling happy to shocked within a manner of seconds. _If Hinata-chan smells like lavender and I was tracking a lavender scent…_The trail of thought led him to the memories of what he had been doing while acting foxy and he simply stared off into space for a moment. Then his mind went into overload as the memories of his actions hit him.

"I-I-I-I rubbed y-y-y-our c-c-c-heek…" Naruto stuttered out as his face began to turn red.

"H-h-hai…" Hinata began tapping her fingers together in her usual nervous habit at a faster pace than she had ever done before. She slowly lifted her gaze up to Naruto's chest not daring to look at the cheek that had been up against hers just a few minutes earlier. "N-n-naruto-kun, a-a-a-no, I-I-I-I…"

"G-g-g-omen, I-I-I-I was j-j-just-,"

"-y-y-y-ou s-s-s-niffed me," she finished and Naruto gulped.

He began to sweat nervously as he tried to think of something to say but nothing came out right in his head. With a quick breath of air, Naruto said the best thing he could think of and prayed that it would work. "G-g-guess t-t-that jutsu I used t-t-to fight Itach-teme has s-s-some side-effects!"

"H-hai, is t-t-that why y-y-you acted l-l-like a fox?" her words caused Naruto to freeze up much to Hinata's worry as she began to connect the two events together. The young heiress gathered her courage up for a brief moment and quickly spoke before she could lose her nerve. "Ano, y-y-y-you d-d-didn't use h-h-handseals…"

Naruto blinked a few times before he slowly gulped and began to shake with worry. He had hoped she wouldn't ask that question as he knew the only answer he could give without lying to his best friend was the exact answer he feared to give. _I can't lie to her because then when she finds out about Kyuubi she'll think I can't trust her and leave me. _The blond began to play with his dog-tags in a vain attempt to calm himself down. _If I tell her the truth she could accept it, but she might get hurt because of me. What if I tell her and instead of accepting me, she fears me and runs away from me! _That single thought broke through all the others and Naruto began to shake madly at the horror of Hinata leaving him out of fear he might unleash Kyuubi on her. Images of Hinata's face with tears streaming down her cheeks and a large frown on her face with eyes full of fear and grief flashed through his mind rapidly, causing his eyes to tear up in fear of her rejection. _What do I do? I don't want to lose Hinata-chan!_

Said heiress was beginning to tear up like her friend over her own question and the effects it appeared to have on him. _Oh no, I shouldn't have asked him! Why did I have to say he acted like a fox? _The part of her that had suggested the idea was berating itself while the other was worrying as much as she was over Naruto's welfare. With her crush on the verge of tears over something she had said Hinata began to wish she had never spoken while their observer quickly stepped in and placed her hands on their shoulders.

"R-r-r-reihitsu-san?"

"Kaa-san?"

The matriarch looked at the two carefully for a moment before wiping each child's tears away. She then sat down on the floor, positioning herself so that each child was in arms reach before speaking to them. "Go ahead and tell her about your secret Naruto,"

"W-w-what secret?" asked Hinata.

"An S-Class secret that only Naruto can tell anyone without being punished for it, though those bastards and bitches that call themselves civilians haven't obeyed it," Reihitsu growled, her pupils seeming to dilate as she had done when fighting Itachi for a moment only to return to normal as she relaxed. With her anger under control, she turned to Naruto and gave him a comforting smile. "She won't run son, trust me. If she's anything like her mom, I think you'll be relieved at her reaction,"

Naruto looked from his mother to his friend and then back again with a worried look. The matriarch nodded to him while Hinata looked at Naruto who still had a few tears near the edge of his eyes, yet he decided to trust his mother's instincts once again.

"Hinata-chan, I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd hate me afterwards and would stop being my friend," he quietly said, and immediately jumped at Hinata's sudden outburst.

"NO!"

She clamped her hands over her mouth after she shouted while Naruto stared at her in shock. After a little while of staring at each other, Hinata slowly lowered her hands and began tapping her fingers together.

"N-n-no I won't l-l-leave you N-n-naruto-kun, you p-p-protect me a-a-and…" She trailed off unable to finish her sentence. Yet what she had been able to say was enough to dispel Naruto's fears long enough for his determination to kick in. "O-onegai, tell me,"

"…Okay. You know how I've been getting better at smelling, hearing stuff, and how I acted like a fox that night?" he asked and waited for her to nod before he continued in a serious tone that Hinata immediately sat up attentively when she heard it. It was a tone that Naruto had only spoken in once before tearing into Itachi with dark red claws made of chakra. "The reason why I acted like a fox is the same reason why I have these whisker marks, why the villagers see me as a demon and why I have that mark you saw on my chest,"

Naruto paused for a moment to let Hinata absorb the information and prepare herself for his explanation. He quietly gave a small hopeful prayer for his sake and Hinata's before he took in a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and strengthened his resolve before he could lose his nerve. _…I hope we can still be friends after this…_

With one hand he slowly took off his shirt and with the other he activated the Tate Hyoushou with his arm stretched out to the side. At once the familiar violet-red shield came to life along with the appearance of a black spiral around his navel with eight lines of script coming circling around it. Hinata stared at the seal in surprise while Naruto pointed at the center of the seal with a grim frown on his face.

"Hinata-chan, I am the jailor and prison of the Kyuubi no Youko, Shohou Uzumaki Naruto," He stated as his friend gasped and looked from the seal to his eyes, unable to voice her numerous questions exploding in her head from the shock. Sensing the mixed emotions of the two children, Reihitsu placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder to comfort while taking the opportunity to speak on his behalf.

"The first history lesson about the Kyuubi's attack in the academy is only half the story princess, the other half can only be revealed to someone when Naruto willingly reveals his status as a jinchuuriki to them. You see princess, Kyuubi cannot be killed by someone like me, Kakashi, or Hizuren himself, he's a powerful spirit and the only way to deal with something of that class of creature requires a different method," she paused for a moment in a similar manner to Naruto who had done the same thing earlier and she sighed. "What you see on Naruto's stomach is two sets seals, the one that pulled the fuzzy bastard into our little blond, and the two that allow him to use the bastard's chakra while making she he's still on his leash,"

Reihitsu became silent after her explanation and watched the two carefully for the slightest reaction that might come up. On her right, Naruto sat with his eyes staring dead at the ground with his Hyoushou deactivated along with the disappearance of the seal. Despite the disappearance however, he kept his shirt off being too worried about his friend's thoughts to care about manners or etiquette. Not that she could blame him for it as she herself could remember a time when her husband had done the same when explaining his bloodline to her. _I wish you were here Toan-kun, you were better at this shit than I ever could be, _she thought as she lifted her gaze over to Hinata.

The young heiress had remained in a state of shock yet the subtle shaking of her body and the slight trembling of her lips gave some relief to Reihitsu. She silently rejoiced at the signs, though she quickly calmed down when she looked back over to Naruto who had not yet noticed the trembling lip yet. _Fuck, he's too shaken to notice it and I can't always do his job for him, damn your villagers! If you shitheads hadn't made him an outcast…_The following thoughts caused a ripple of killing intent to come off of Reihitsu, causing the two children to jump at the action. Hinata took a moment to look at Naruto who was now gazing at his mother in surprise and she quickly followed his gaze, gasping in surprise at what she saw.

"Reihitsu-san, y-y-your eyes a-a-are-,"

"-My pupils are like a dog's right?" she flashed them a toothy grin, showing over her sharp looking canines turned fangs off with pride.

"How did you do that kaa-san? I didn't even see you do a hand seal," Naruto added in a quiet tone, still worrying about Hinata's opinion of him now.

The matriarch smiled at him and before either one could say anything; she took a small sniff of the air for a moment and turned to Hinata. "I can smell your scent like Naruto can but before I explain a lot of shit to you, princess, I think Naruto needs his answer now or he's going to be keeping us up tonight from crying…"

Hinata gasped in horror at her slow response and she immediately turned to Naruto and began sniffling as tears started to fall from her eyes. _I didn't know why I liked Naruto-kun before, when I first met him, I thought he was my guardian, _she looked over at his dead eyes and she felt part of her heart cry at the sight of his energetic orbs being replaced with lifeless ones. The blonde's eyes had always fascinated her and whenever they sparkled with his boundless energy fueling them, she couldn't help but smile at the sight. They had cheered her up when she was sad, given her courage when they burned with determination, and when she needed his help, they seemed to swirl like a pair of deep blue maelstroms that would carry away from her troubles. For Hinata to see those exquisite eyes lifeless and cold made her heart weep over the loss of the twin stars that had given her so much hope and light. _He's not just my guardian, he's the whole village, no, the world's guardian. _She corrected herself, and with that thought in mind, the heiress quietly crawled over towards Naruto.

The poor blond was too busy with the images of Hinata's reaction of shock, horror, and surprise on her face to notice her movement. He did not realize she had moved or that she was already in front of him until he a pair of small arms brought him out of his daze. _Someone's hugging me? _Naruto slowly looked down at the person and his eyes widened in surprise to see Hinata hugging him and crying into his chest. The young heiress was say something between sobs as the confused boy simply stared at her in disbelief while trying to catch some of her words.

"I-I-I'm so sorry *sob* Naruto-kun! You *sob* a-a-are doing so *sob* much for K-k-Konoha and *sob*," she cried. The mere sound of sadness in her voice snapped him out of his trance and he quickly wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down. "I-I-I hate *sob* being s-s-so *sob* weak t-t-t-hat *sob* I c-c-can't help you and I'm *sob* j-j-j-just a friend…"

"We're still friends right?" asked Naruto and Hinata sniffled and looked up at him.

"H-h-hai, I *hic* will a-a-always be *hic* your friend N-n-naruto-kun," she replied.

The heiress gasped as a pure crystal blue glow caught her attention as well as Naruto's and they both looked at the source of the glow; his new marking of a star in a sphere on his chest. Neither one had any clue what the change in colors meant or why the mark was glowing yet Naruto did feel lighter than before. It was as if merely sharing his secret with Hinata and her acceptance of him had removed a large weight from his mind. The two friends gazed at the mark for a little while before Naruto broke out into a grin and suddenly wrapped his arms around Hinata, giving her a warm hug and smiling at her with tears in his eyes.

Her own eyes began to fill with tears again out of fear that she had made her crush sad again, only she didn't hear sad filled sobs or despair soaked moans. To her great surprise Naruto was happily and truly laughing that was from true feelings of relief and overwhelming joy within his heart. As she listened to his laughter, Hinata felt her own sadness wash away and soon she was laughing with her friend while Reihitsu simply smiled at the two and wiped a tear away out of her eye.

After a while of laughing and crying they both settled down though Hinata remained in Naruto's lap with a healthy blush on her slightly swollen cheeks. The young blond still had his arms wrapped around her body yet she made no effort to get away and simply enjoyed the feeling of warmth from his presence.

"Hinata-chan, arigatou…" he whispered.

"F-f-for what Naruto-kun?" she asked and her crush smiled at her.

"For being my friend even though I have fuzzy in me,"

The comment brought a giggle out of Hinata while Reihitsu on the other hand burst out in laughter at Kyuubi's infamous nickname. Naruto snickered at the image of a chibi-Kyuubi being hugged to death by all the children in the Shohou clan along with Hanabi and Eishi. However funny it was to the trio though, the bijuu in question was beginning to glow red with rage at the slight to his species and fame. _**"Insolent little whelp of a kit, if this infernal seal was not at the peak of strength at this very moment and I had my body, I would rip that fuzz you call hair off and force you to eat it!" **_Kyuubi roared angrily, yet his threat did nothing more than send Naruto into a full blown bout of laughter while the king of foxes moved his tails from side to side in anger. Hinata looked at Naruto with her head tilted to the side in confusion and for a brief moment he simply noted how cute she looked. _She normally looks cute, but now, she looks…beautiful…_The blond didn't risk giving his tenant ammo for a comeback and quietly had the thought zoom across the ceiling of his mind out of Kyuubi's sight but not his other senses as he continued to stare at his friend's face.

_**You may have hidden your thoughts from me this time, but it shall not happen again…**_Kyuubi smirked while Naruto noticed Hinata's lips were moving. "Huh?"

"N-naruto-kun I asked w-w-what are t-t-the benefits of Kyuubi-sama-a-a being in you," she said, her respectful use of honorifics temporarily dispelling the great bijuu's anger. _**"Ah, the little princess is wise to give me the respect I deserve as befits one such as myself."**_

_"A large overgrown furball who chases after my mom in his dreams deserves a good kick to his groin," _replied Naruto and he tuned out Kyuubi's snort in time to give an answer to Hinata. "Well I heal faster than even a medic nin, oh and I also have the Ketsueki Fude like Shiika-nee-chan and Kousei-ani-kun have,"

"A-a-ano, how can you h-h-have it if y-you're not a Shohou by b-b-blood?" she asked innocently, and looked away out of embarrassment of her blunt question. "Gomen, I-I-I shouldn't have a-a-asked…"

Naruto shook his head at her then gave her a big smile. "It's okay Hinata-chan, ever since Kyuubi started healing me and helping my body to produce more blood when I was younger, the seal started to filter some of his chakra into my bloodstream too. With how strong the filtered chakra is, my blood is just like oji-san's, saturated with a lot of chakra,"

"Plus with his large chakra stores still getting the normal amount of fuzzy-ass's chakra filter in he doesn't have the same jutsu rank restriction that the others have," Reihitsu added and she ruffled her son's hair playfully which caused him to glare at her and squirm out from under her hand. Hinata giggled at the two while the matriarch quietly smiled at the strengthened bond between the two children. "I'm glad to see you two are even better friends now than before all this fuzzy ass business because this new training is going to help both of you,"

"Really?"

"H-h-how?"

Reihitsu grinned and she pointed the Kagami tattoo on her shoulder mirroring the one on Naruto's shoulder. "Kids, my clan and all of its members in these lands of the shinobi are shinobi second, and berserkers first. We don't spend our time in battle creating complex plans. We simply act on our instincts and remove any enemy in our path,"

The two children stared dumbfounded in silence while Reihitsu began checking the edge on her nails and using a knife to file them down to smaller points. Hinata was amazed that someone like Naruto's mother who while wild and energetic like her son could possess such a frowned upon ability. Shinobi were respected as masters of stealth and renowned for their skills in assassinations and being invisible. A berserker on the other hand was a brawler with almost no restraint at all and sacrificed stealth for brute strength and fury. Yet sitting in front of her was one of them and also an elite Jonin with the very nature that contradicted everything a shinobi was trained to do. Naruto shared Hinata's thoughts on the idea that his mother was both a berserker and a shinobi though part of him was curious as he remembered the fight with Itachi two months before. _If kaa-san is a berserker, then how come she didn't attack me when we were fighting against the teme? And how come she was only attacking the teme and no one else, I thought berserkers attacked anyone in their way. _She seemed to understand the children's confusion and Reihitsu gestured for them to move closer to her.

They quietly obeyed and Naruto moved closer while Hinata looked at Reihitsu with amazement. She shivered a little when she looked at the matriarch's eyes yet she calmed herself down with a few deep breaths of air and then spoke. "Reihitsu-san, i-i-if you're a berserker-r-r, how can y-y-you control yourself?"

"Yeah, how come you fought with me against the teme and not against me and the teme, weren't you in berserker mode then?" Naruto added in and the pair waited for Reihitsu's reply. She smiled at the two and her pupils returned to normal along with her teeth and nail much to their amazement.

"Here's the answer to both your questions, I'm not your normal berserker. Sure I have the normal frenzy any regular berserker does but unlike them when I really go wild, I am aware I'm wild," Noting their confused looks, Reihitsu sighed and scratched her head for a minute as she tried to think of the best explanation. "Okay, you know how the Inuzaka use jutsu to act like their partners do in battle?"

"Yeah, Kiba-baka does it all the time,"

"H-h-hai,"

The matriarch smiled at the two and pointed to herself with her thumb. "I do the same thing but with one jutsu and whatever my spirit is, that's what characteristics I take on. The technique we used is an old one that allows us to synchronize with our inner selves, our spirit, to better use our berserker abilities to their full potential. Let's use my son and fuzzy-ass an example,"

_**"…If I ever have your mother visit me in this pathetic excuse for a mind, I'll make sure she pays for that insult in a very special way…" **_Naruto ignored the fox king's threat and continued to listen to Reihitsu.

"When Naruto uses chakra from fuzzy and goes into a tailed state, he takes on attributes and characteristics of a kitsune such as claws, whisker marks, chakra ears, and his senses are heightened to the level of a kitsune," she explained, and the two children nodded in understanding. "That's the same thing with me, only my form won't be a fox because I don't have the same spirit as my son does. When I naturally entered my berserker mind set fighting Itachi-teme and you joined me, I recognized your scent as being family. I gave you the Kagami mark not only to show you as my son and a scion of the Kagami, but also so that I can remember your scent when I go berserk. So, any more questions about being a berserker kids?"

"Reihitsu-san, h-h-how will this t-t-t-raining help both of us?" asked Hinata, reminding the matriarch about her earlier statement she had almost forgotten about.

"For Naruto here, he will be learning control of his natural instincts both human and kitsune so he can be more aware in his tailed state. As for you princess, I'll be teaching you how to communicate with someone who is in a bijuu state since they will have animal instincts for short bit," she replied and immediately Naruto spoke up.

"Wait, is that how you told me to stand down and leave the weasel alone?" he asked Reihitsu, and she smiled at him then nodded.

Hinata blinked for a moment before remembering the barks and growls the matriarch had shot to Naruto followed by his immediate obedience by backing off. She blushed at the idea of having her crush at her command and she let out a squeak at the mental image. "I-I-I'll be able t-t-to command N-n-naruto-kun?"

"No, he obeyed me because even in his tailed state Naruto will always recognize me as his mother and the alpha-female of the family. In other words, my word is law to him. For you, he'll recognize you as a friend, and possible mate of course," she slyly said. The two friends turned bright red at the words possible mate, followed by Hinata becoming very aware of their current position.

Naruto still had his arms wrapped around her while she was still in his lap though they quickly broke apart as soon as they could. Reihitsu laughed at the two children's antics, earning her a glare from her blushing son while Hinata began studying the floor and tried not to picture Naruto acting like he did earlier and rubbing his cheek against hers. That image did not help her situation as she turned a brighter shade of red while Reihitsu slowly began to calm down though she still snickered every so often at the reaction she got from the two children.

"Okay you two lovebirds, enough of the blushing. We have serious training to do," stated Reihitsu, shifting from her role as simply mother and caregiver to matriarch and teacher. Naruto and Hinata listened to her attentively while also keeping themselves focused on their teacher and not the still blushing faces of each other. "To learn how to hear and communicate with your spirit you need to develop your spiritual awareness through meditation. Feel the flow of your energy, listen to the beating of your heart, and find your spirit by letting it come to you,"

She closed her eyes and began slowly inhaling and exhaling while she rested her arms in her lap with her fists lying against her leg. The two children exchanged glances before taking up similar positions while Reihitsu opened her eyes, revealing the shrunken state shape her pupils had taken on again. Without a word spoken, she smiled at the two as they began to take slow deep breaths and then exhaled. _The little princess has a gentle yet strong spirit like the sunset, though with my son here, she has the confidence to shine like the sun. _She turned her gaze onto Naruto to find the blond doing his best to try and keep himself calm. The blond had trouble with normal meditation, though he still tried as hard as he could and the results from his hard work reflected his determination. _A guardian spirit just like your old man, a wild nature like me, but a heart all your own my child. You will make a hell of a shinobi one day, even with fuzzy ass inside of you, speaking of the furball…_Her gaze drifted down to Naruto's stomach where the dim outline of his seal could be made out. _Time to have a word with fuzzy ass about that little mark on my son's chest…This had better be worth it you damn bastard or I'm ripping a tail off. _Reihitsu closed her eyes and began to relax while inside of her mind, a single shadow shot out of the large cave. Invisible to the three people meditating, a large gray glow began to surround the Matriarch, taking on the shape of a large canine that bent down to Naruto. The creature sniffed Naruto for a moment before shrinking into a ball and entering the blonde's stomach, creating a gray line between mother and child.

**********************************************

Inside of Naruto's mind, the red eyes of the fox king flickered for a moment as one of his tails swished and a large screen appeared in front of his cage. Lines went across from one side to the other constantly going up and down in waves yet never touching each other. With another swish of his tail, the screen vanished and Kyuubi let out an amused growl from his throat. _**The Kagami eh, how unfortunate for me that she is not unskilled as a berserker or I would have been able to at least get that infernal Uchiha in my claws. However, I am intrigued by her suggestion of the brat's choice of mate as the Hyuuga Princess, very interesting. **_His tails swished from side to side before growing still as he stretched his large limbs out inside of the darkness. The massive behemoth tilted his head from side to side, amused at the loud pops of his neck as he finished stretching his body. With a dark chuckle, he closed his eyes and his tails resumed their business, though with a bit of energy and an odd perk in their movement.

_**"You know the brat will be disappointed that his beloved mother is invading his privacy little girl," **_he said in a mock tone of chastisement, and he opened his eyes slowly as Reihitsu looked up at him with a defiant gaze as if his words had been mere whispers. _**"Shall I call him for you little girl or do you wish to amuse me and summon him yourself to explain your presence in this place?"**_

"That's Reihitsu-sama to you Kyuubi-no-baka, don't call my mother a little girl!" Kyuubi turned his head a little to see Naruto glaring at him with a large scowl on his face.

"Don't worry about me son, I could care less what the fuzzy bastard calls me because I know he's just an ass who can't deal with a woman who doesn't want him," said Reihitsu as she smirked at the bijuu before her. "Go ahead and resume your meditation Naruto, I need to have a word with fuzzy ass here about a few things like that star shit mark you have,"

Her son looked at her for a moment before nodding with a grin on his face. Then he turned to Kyuubi and his grin turned to a frown as he shot the large fox a glare. "Hurt my mom and your tails are mine,"

_**"Go back to your little spirit quest brat, the adults are talking here,"**_

"More like one adult and a big fat fox kit," whispered Naruto as he vanished from sight, leaving Kyuubi to glare at Reihitsu who simply smiled at him.

_**"I hold you responsible for his disrespect to me little girl. I will not tolerate that brat-,"**_

"-Shut the hell up you furry bastard, I'm not here to be your complaint box so can it," Reihitsu angrily said, her body glowing with gray light as she narrowed her eyes. "Try anything funny on my son and I'm ripping a tail off any way I can, you got that?

The behemoth studied the short woman before him for a moment, noting her sharp nails, small circles for pupils, and her sharp canine teeth. She returned his stare with one of defiance that only a few others had dared to give him, two of which were responsible of his imprisonment. The two remained silent for a while until it was broken by a dark chuckle from Kyuubi while Reihitsu continued to stare at him only fazed by his new tone when he spoke.

_**"Ah, so you are his mother, I should be angry with you for strengthening the seal through your relationship with the brat, however I am not. But before we start our little conversation…" **_Kyuubi's eyes seemed to shrink within the darkness and his loud voice seemed to grow smaller until his eyes stopped shrinking. The two dark red eyes fixed Reihitsu with a gaze that made her blink in surprise at the lack of anger within them that she expected. **"I believe this form will make it easier to speak to you in without you pissing yourself girl,"**

"Big words from a big furball, care to back up and explain the change in speech to me oh mighty furry-ass?" retorted Reihitsu sarcastically to red eyes staring at her.

**"I'm a kitsune woman and I can change my form of course, how do you think I survived so long with just size and dumb speech alone, hmm?" **replied Kyuubi with a chuckle as the matriarch began to glow with more gray light. **"So, do you really care for the brat or are you just acting?"**

Naruto felt a spike in emotion coming from his mother, and he looked up from the large hall he was in. He frowned at the possible reasons he could think of before simply hoping that if it was his tenant's fault that she would kick his butt. The young blond resumed his search for his spirit and made a quiet note to make the fox regret insulting his mother.

Said woman growled angrily at Kyuubi while the gray light around her grew to the size of a large wolf that mimicked Reihitsu's growling. **"He is my child just as much as Kousei, Shiika, and Anko are! Call me a liar and I'll rip your tails off with my bare hands!"**

**"Kami must be enjoying my torment right now, such fire in a female," **Reihitsu narrowed her eyes as the aura became still yet the wolf like image remained over her body like a shadow. Kyuubi chuckled at her furious glare while his eyes seemed to get larger to her, indicating movement from the bijuu. **"I have to say Reihitsu-chan; you are beautiful when you're angry,"**

**"And the only good thing about is your size makes up for your lack of balls," **she replied with a smirk, expecting the fox king to return her insult with one of his own. But he didn't, instead the eyes seemed to glow as he began to laugh. _I'm having fox tails for dinner tonight, _she told herself as both she and the wolf darkly smiled at the idea.

**"Ah, and she has one hell of a wild side to boot! You woman, are a rare catch for any male of any species…" **Kyuubi smiled while Reihitsu bared her teeth at him along with the wolf-like aura as his roamed over her body and the wolf vanished. Suddenly a blast of fire shot into the cage, narrowly missing the eyes as Reihitsu glared at him with small pupils and smoke coming out of her mouth. **"Fiery and feisty, you must be one hell of a woman when you're heat,"**

The matriarch gave a large toothy grin, showing off her sharp teeth while she crouched low to the ground on her hands and feet, ready to strike at a moment's notice. **"Coming from you I guess that's a compliment?"**

**"More like a proposition vixen, are you interested?"**

Reihitsu stared at Kyuubi in surprise, lowering her brows like a dog would when confused, and her eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air carefully. Kyuubi simply chuckled and smiled in the darkness only for Reihitsu to snarl at him while arching her back up in anger.

**"So the senses are included in the channeling, quite the ability you have there, my short vixen," **he whispered into her ear, causing her to snap her head around in surprise and swipe at the origin of the voice only to find her nails going through thin air. **"Hearing as well as sight and smell, interesting…"**

**"You threw your voice behind me…" **she growled as she spun around again with her claws in a vicious double swipe in anger at being tricked a second time.

**"Ah, you have a wonderful backside for one so short vixen," **the bijuu said as Reihitsu turned back to him no longer crouched over in anger but standing tall with defiance. **"It's a compliment woman, I find your physique to be quite attractive, and you carry yourself like a warrior,"**

The matriarch smirked and rolled her eyes at Kyuubi. **"Flatter me all you like, but I'm here for a reason fox,"**

**"My my short vixen, are we feeling a little aroused?" **Reihitsu shivered from the close proximity of his voice to her ear, and she silently cursed ventriloquism. The voice had sounded like the bijuu was right behind her with his mouth near her ear, something that would normally scare thousands, made her shiver with a bit of excite. _Damn it, he's using my enhanced- _**"-'Senses against me the cunning bastard.' Why short vixen, I didn't know you cared about me so much,"**

**"Would you like to have a small cage and no link to Naruto's senses or better yet, chains that amplify the seal's filtering ability? Take your pick and I can have Han add them in an instant," **she countered with a smile only for Kyuubi to smirk at her while chuckling.

**"Oh those two would be wonderful along with the Kyokukan Hyoushou. Did you know that it can be reversed by simply altering the path of the chakra flow out of the source?" **The behemoth smiled down at Reihitsu for a moment before he took a sudden swipe at her. She moved to the side out of the way only to realize that the claws had stopped short and she growled at Kyuubi. **"Actually, I don't have to always stay behind these bars, not anymore thanks to the Kitsune Mon he now bears,"**

Reihitsu's eyes widened at the revelation while Kyuubi smirked and his eyes seemed to fade into the darkness of his prison. The matriarch broke out of her trance when she felt something off about her surroundings and she began searching the cage. Her eyes darted over every inch and every corner she could see with her eyes through the darkness albeit dimly. She was too busy with her search to notice the seal on the bars was no longer on paper but the actual metal itself.

As she finished her search, her thoughts went to her son's safety and she quickly turned around to begin searching for Naruto when she came face to face with a red eyed young man. Her eyes roamed across his body, noting the large silver cloth wrapped around him, hiding his body from her sight except for the nine fox tails swirling behind him. Reihitsu stared at his tails for a moment before honing in on the man's eyes, noting the blackish outline around them and how the pupils were slits and had odd little flecks of black pointing out on each side. _Those eyes look just like fuzzy-ass's eyes…wait a second, those __**are **__his eyes! _She quickly looked from cage to the man in front of her, back to the cage, then back to the man several times while the man simply chuckled at her.

**"How in the hell did you get out of your cage?"** she asked as she turned her head back to the young man only to find herself staring at his leg and then up to his eyes. _He's fast…and too close! _Reihitsu growled and bit down on the whimper that threatened to escape her throat.

**"The Kitsune Mon of course, I can only take a human form outside of the cage and my chakra is kept within the cage," **explained Kyuubi. The matriarch resisted the urge to gulp as the fox king began circling her while studying her carefully. **"The brat will be getting a few, additional benefits from that little mark such as the ability to use kitsune-bi for example. Just thought I should let you know,"**

**"Go figure that would happen with something called a Kitsune Mon, dumbass,**" retorted Reihitsu and Kyuubi stopped circling her so that he was standing on her left still staring at her.

The stare had no anger in it or any emotion, yet the matriarch could feel her animal instincts switching from fear to anger rapidly. _Damn it that stare of his is making me get mixed signals from my instincts, he's making me treat him like another wolf! _She forced herself to focus on the thoughts of her children and deceased husband, giving her the incentive needed to focus on her anger. With a snarl, her body began leaking out gray light on her back acting like fur which bristled with her rage while she narrowed her eyes. _Time to get out of here…_The matriarch started to relax for a moment to focus back on the link to her body when she realized her mistake. _Shit I forgot he's still here! _Before she could recover and react, Kyuubi had already grabbed her and pinned her to the ground with tails standing up at attention. His large orange eyes burrowed into hers as she struggled to get out of his surprisingly strong grasp.

**"Like I said earlier, fiery and feisty, you are a rare catch for any male of any species, and you are like a mother bear when it comes to her cubs. I like that in a vixen," **whispered Kyuubi in a low animalistic tone, adding a low growl when he said the word vixen. Reihitsu felt herself shiver at his voice, and part of her instincts began to react to the heavy scent the fox king in a way that caused her to curse them. _Shit did not just get real with my hormones!_ She tried to bring herself out of the merger but her heightened senses went on overload when she felt Kyuubi's breath on her neck. **"In fact, I have been looking for a mate for a few centuries now plus you're my first female visitor as well…"**

**"I'm the only female visitor you've had!"**

**"Ah, a minor technicality and I don't smell any complaints coming from you," **he grinned.

Reihitsu's eyes dilated for a split second in a mix of rage and surprise before she brought her hands up to slash him but he pinned them to the wall with two of his tails. Unable to escape at the moment and with her temper already past the threshold, she did the only thing she could. Kick him in the groin.**"Damn my instincts for reacting to you, damn you for hitting on me, and damn you to hell you sorry flea-bitten fox bastard for pissing me off!"**

She continued kicking unaware of the second Kyuubi standing behind her with a large grin on her face as she kicked the first many more times before finally catching his stifled chuckles. The matriarch spun around in surprise as she was again pinned to the wall, cushioned by several tails while her captor smiled at her and kissed her on the lips.

Her eyes shot open at the contact and the heat coming from Kyuubi while her instincts went past overload several times. All her training and instincts cried out for retribution in the form of Kyuubi's tails for a coat but her mind was unable to respond to the cries. The matriarch did nothing more than stand there for a moment as Kyuubi broke off and licked his lips in satisfaction.

**"Such an exotic taste, I think I will enjoy our future visits better," **said Kyuubi with a smirk on his face as his words snapped Reihitsu out of her trance and her rage took over.

**"I'LL USE YOUR BODY FOR MY PUNCHING BAG BASTARD!"**

**"Another time perhaps my future lover, but not today," **Before she could swipe at him with her claws, a surge of red light pushed her up into the ceiling. The fox king smirked as he licked his lips again and walked back into the cage filled with darkness, the white cloth disappearing as soon as he stepped foot inside. The seal mark lifted up as the paper reappeared on the bars and glowed while Kyuubi looked at the wall where a large screen appeared showing Reihitsu in her berserker form fighting Itachi. _**I wouldn't mind the price of having the Kitsune Mon reach full maturity. Having that fiery wolf beg me to bear my pups would be reward enough, and I would enjoy giving the brat a few siblings. **_He chuckled at the thought of little children with fox tails and ears playing together while he gave Naruto some questionable sparring practice. _**I look forward to our next meeting my Reihitsu-chan…**_

**********************************************

"Damn fox!" spat Reihitsu causing her two students to jump at the sudden shout.

"Are you a-a-alright Reihitsu-sama?" asked Hinata as she noticed the older woman's blush.

"What did you two talk about?" Naruto added, oblivious to the slight blush to his mother's cheeks.

The matriarch took a few moments to calm down while her features returned to normal though she was still angry as well as slightly aroused. She growled at the memory before letting out a heavy sigh and addressed Naruto and Hinata. "I'll get him back for this..."

"Tell me what that bastard did and I'll make him dream of fangirls for the next month!" he proclaimed and his tenant snickered at him. _**"Pathetic threat at the most brat, I've cleaned my toothpicks with fangirls many a decade." **_He stated much to Naruto's annoyance.

"Did he say-y-y what Naruto-kun-n-n's mark means?" He looked over at Hinata and shot her a surprised look. "G-g-g-omen, I was curious…"

"Forget it kid. Anyway, the mark is called a Kitsune Mon, and the bastard told me it's why Naruto's senses are heightened. My guess is it has something to do with your connection via the seal allowing you to gain the traits and abilities of a kitsune, maybe even kitsune-bi if we're lucky," explained Reihitsu. She stood up then motioned for them to follow and they headed back to the dojo.

Naruto's eyes lit up as he thought about being able to breathe fire like Sasuke could. _**"Imbecile, a kitsune does not learn how to breathe fire in a human form till they reach two tails of age. Do not forget you are not a kitsune and at the most you can only throw the flames from your hands," **_Kyuubi's words annoyed the blonde as they walked and he decided to ask about the conversation his mom had with his tenant. The blond took a moment to warn Hinata, breaking her out of her thoughts and she looked away after nodding to him. She had been envisioning Naruto with five yellow fox tails and a pair of yellow ears on top of his head. Her mind had soon began to picture a foxy Naruto as her husband with several foxy children, then herself at which point the real blond had awakened her from her daydream.

"I'm going to have a chat with Kyuubi-teme, keep an eye on me okay Hinata-chan?" he asked only to be floored by the killing intent rolling off Reihitsu's body. The two latched onto each other for protection as the matriarch slowly turned to them.

Chizu and Chizu-cho were coming out of the dojo when they sensed the killing intent rolling off their clan leader. Sasuke was training with Kakashi when the white-haired man froze in place and didn't react to kick at all causing the Uchiha to turn to the source. Even Shiika who was walking hand-in-hand with Shino to greet her brother and friend latched onto the Aburame's side, whimpering in fear at the aura.

"Sweetie, please let me give the fox a message," she said with a smile. The two children gulped at the polite tone in Reihitsu's voice that masked the heavy amount of anger swelling up within her. "I look forward to removing his tails one by one while I burn his body to ashes,"

Naruto shivered at the anger radiating from his mother before nodding to let her know the message was received. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and relaxed when the aura faded away while Reihitsu calmly resumed her walk to the dojo. _You should not have pissed her off Kyuubi-teme, _he warned the fox king. _**"As if a mere mortal, a pretty one at that, could cause me to fear her. Besides, I think she liked that kiss I gave her." **_The fox king chuckled as he felt Naruto's anger rise for a moment before suddenly dying out as if an outside force was cutting it off. Curious about the sudden change, he looked through his jailor's eyes to find Hinata giving his arm a gentle squeeze. Suddenly the screen went dead and Kyuubi frowned at the brief image. _**"Do you think a simple blackout of information will stop me brat?"**_ he questioned. _If you so much as think about Hinata-chan, I'll make you dream of nothing but Gai-ojisan hugging Lee-kun with the sunset scene for three weeks, and don't think I don't know how! _The bijuu shivered at the image and grew quiet out of silent fear at the dreaded scene. Even he knew better than to try and provoke someone when they had that kind of bargaining chip as no cure existed to get rid of that memory.

Hinata watched Naruto as his pupils focused for a moment before he turned to her and smiled. No sooner had he done so though when he was greeted by Chizu and Chizu-cho who shivered as they walked past Reihitsu.

"Hey Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, what was that about?" asked Chizu while Chizu-cho shivered again.

"I haven't seen her that angry in a long time…" added Chizu-cho.

"I d-d-don't know…"

Naruto sighed and explained what had happened, including whispering the farewell that Kyuubi had given Reihitsu. He quickly made a mental note to ask Hinata to help him find some way to block out his tenant's voice as laugher echoed in his mind when he mentioned the kiss. The twins were just as amused as Kyuubi while Hinata shot them a shocked look to their reactions.

"Y-y-you shouldn't laugh at Reihitsu-sama," she chastised the two to no avail as they continued to laugh.

Hinata shook her head in disappointment before looking to Naruto for help. The blonde patted her on the shoulder and lead her to the dojo. "Don't worry about my kaa-san Hinata-chan. She can take care of fuzzy-ass and I know she'll add interest for what he did,"

"Perhaps she might kiss him back," suggested Chizu as they began to calm down.

"They might start making out even," added Chizu-cho.

"Our poor dear cousin will never get any meditation done…"

"I never thought I'd see the day when our dear matriarch would ever get another husband!"

Naruto stopped in mid-step causing Hinata to turn to him. She opened her mouth to ask him why they had stopped when he picked her up and shot over to rest area across from the dojo. A few of the clan members along with Mikoto and Hikaru quickly moved to the rest area, including Yoyate who was carrying Eishi and Hanabi in her arms. Hinata looked at them in confusion before Naruto pointed to the dojo where a massive source of killing intent that put the first wave from Reihitsu to shame was coming from.

"Uh-oh itoko, I'd make that mindscape of yours bigger if I were you," teased Chizu only to look around in confusion. "Where did he go?"

"Ah I see him aniki but I wonder why he didn't want to hear about Reihitsu-sama and Kyuubi-sama?" his brother questioned. He looked over when he did not hear a response to find Chizu's mouth hanging open with a look of horror on his face. A shiver went down Chizu-cho's spine as he felt the waves of killing intent scorch the hairs on his neck.

"……"

"She's behind me isn't she aniki,"

Nod.

"Thank you for volunteering to be my sparring partners, I hope you two don't hold back on me," Reihitsu cheerfully said with a large smile. Naruto could only shake his head and chuckle weakly at his cousins as they began to shake like leaves under short woman's gaze. Her eyes grew dark along with her smile and she cracked her knuckles ominously with sadistic anticipation. "Get ready boys 'cuz I have a lot of aggression to work out today,"

"Please have mer-!"

WHAM!

"Save me a seat in heaven Chizu!"

"Welcome to hell dum-dums, kage bunshin no jutsu,"

Poof-poof!

"Mommie!"

BAM! WHAM! WHAM! CRUNCH!

Sasuke stared in shock at the sheer ferocity of his teacher as she knocked her two cousins around like ragdolls and he started to run over to help the two out but Naruto pulled him back. The raven haired boy gave his friend a confused look before removing his arm from his grasp then running over to a fallen and bloody Chizu who was trying to crawl away and spotted Sasuke.

"Don't try to help meeeaaaaaiieeee!" he screamed as he was tossed over to Reihitsu by a clone and the original caught him then planted him head first into the ground.

The clone smiled sadistically as the third Reihitsu joined the second one and they both turned to Sasuke who could only whimper before he was tossed into the dark red dust cloud. Naruto winced as he heard Sasuke screamed and he looked over to Mikoto to find her sighing and shaking her head.

"Your poor brother may not live to see you if he doesn't learn how to avoid Reihitsu-chan," she whispered to her stomach and Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

"Reihitsu-sama wouldn't k-k-kill them, would s-s-she Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked her crush as Sasuke used a substitution.

"Nah, she only beats them up enough to be put in our infirmary for a few days so they'll live," he replied and a Sasuke-shaped missile came screaming towards them.

Naruto sighed while activating his Tate Hyoushou before lifting his arm up in time for Sasuke to crash into the violet-red shield. The unlucky heir was covered in bruises and half his shirt was missing along with half of his pants, still whimpering from the pain he had just endured. Mikoto calmly walked over with Yoyate in two and began healing him as Hinata tightened her grip on Naruto's arm.

"…the light…it was red…the light…" Sasuke whispered and he closed his eyes.

"I'll take you to see Suisen-chan and her team in the morning and you can forget this whole thing," his mother told him. A smile spread across the injured boy's face painfully as he made an small 'hn' of approval.

Hinata stared at the numerous injuries before slowly turning to Naruto and gave a frightened whimper when a loud crash followed by dark laughter was heard. Anko promptly fainted with a large smile on her face into Kakashi's arms while Naruto tried not to wince at one of the cousin's screams, though which one he could not tell. The blond turned to his friend with a grim face before putting an arm around her protectively.

"…I hope they die quickly," he stated and Eishi gave a solemn nod in agreement.

Hanabi on the other hand looked from Anko to Reihitsu before turning to her mother and tugged on her kimono. "Yes my little Hanabi-chan?"

"Can Reihitsu-sama be my sensei kaa-san?"

**********************************************

Sarutobi heard another scream in the air and winced while his grandson looked up at him in confusion at the screams. _I am not doing that paperwork tomorrow…_He gave his grandson a simple explanation to the screams. A pair of twins getting the shit beat out of them.

In the Konoha Interrogation Wing of the ANBU headquarters, Ibiki paused for a moment at the sound of a pair of girlish screams. The scarred man grinned as he recognized the pitch and took a moment to chuckle.

"Sounds like Reihitsu-sensei is having fun tonight," Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged glances before opening the door and leading in the next prisoner just as another screamed pierced the air. "May Kami have mercy on the poor soul she's mad at…"

**********************************************

Inside his cell within Naruto's mindscape, Kyuubi sneezed.

* * *

Author: Finally it is complete, thank heaven!  
Nexus: Do you have next chapter planned out yet? Are we going to see some pairings soon?  
Author: Yes and yes.  
Bladeheart: You aren't going to put us in this or so help me...  
Nexus: Aw, but we'd look so cool!  
Author: True. Anyway would you do the translations please, I need to start working on the next chapter plus the genin graduation and what not. I have timeskip planned and a pairing to get out of the way...(leaves while still talking)  
Nexus: K, bye! (turns to audience) Mon means badge and that's it.  
Bladeheart: That was short.  
Nexus: Yep. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the chapters to come where Naruto strutts his stuff and rats will get owned!  
Bladeheart: Sweet....(Blinks) Where the hell did that banner come from?

Thanks for reading, please submit a review and tell me what you think, every opinion helps in its own unique way! No actual twins or Sasuke's were hurt in the making of this chapter, except for Canon Sasuke.


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